EU drivers still under-inflate their tyres

ERJ staff report (DS)

Brussels -- In a new survey, Bridgestone has found that 71% of motorists in Europe are driving on under-inflated tyres, wasting 2 billion litres of fuel a year, and adding 4.8 million tons of CO2 emissions

Bridgestone checked the tyre condition of 38,000 cars in 9 European countries in 2010. The

results show that 71 percent of motorists are driving on under-inflated tyres. Bridgestone calculates

that this habit is leading to the equivalent of 2 billion tons of wasted fuel worth € 2.8 billion a year.

For the environment this means 4.8 million tons of additional and unnecessary CO2 emissions

annually - the equivalent of 1.8 g/km for every car on the road.

Analysis of these test results show that 7.5 percent of motorists are driving on seriously underinflated

tyres (at least 0.5 bar below recommended pressure) and 0.5 percent are putting their safety

at high risk by driving on severely under-inflated tyres (at least 0.75 bar below recommended

pressure).

Almost 12 percent of tyres on the road are also worn down below the E.U. legal minimum of 1.6 mm

tread depth. Around 2 percent of inspected tyres are both severely worn and severely under

inflated.

Bridgestone's study this year covered slightly fewer vehicles -- 38,200 vehicles in 9 countries. Last year the company looked at 52,400 vehicles in 15 countries.

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Press release from Bridgestone