No change in EU's tyre under-inflation scandal - Bridgestone

ERJ staff report (DS)

Brussels - European motorists continue to drive on under-inflated tyres: 17.5 percent of motorists are driving on tyres at least 0.5 bar below recommended pressure)and 4.3 percent are driving on tyres at least 0.75 bar below recommended pressure.

Bridgestone inspected the tyre condition of 46,000 cars in 11 European countries in 2011. The results show that 63 percent of motorists are driving on under-inflated tyres. Bridgestone calculates that this habit is leading to the equivalent of 3.1 billion tons of wasted fuel worth € 5 billion a year. For the environment this means 7.4 million tons of additional and unnecessary CO2 emissions annually - the equivalent of an additional 2.7 g/km for every car on the road.

“As in previous years, the results indicate that a majority of drivers are unaware of the cost and environmental damage of failing to take care of their tyres” says Tom Fukuda, Senior Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, Bridgestone Europe.

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Press release from Bridgestone