Drivers Wasting GBP4.6bn Of Fuel Due To Under-Inflated Tyres

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Thu, 22 Apr 2010

Motorists across Europe are wasting billions of pounds worth of fuel each year due to driving with under-inflated tyres, new research has revealed.

Safety checks on 52,000 cars across the EU by tyre manufacturer Bridgestone found that 81 per cent have under-inflated tyres .

According to Bridgestone, the amount of fuel wasted by under-inflated tyres – due to the drag they cause –is equal to a staggering four billion litres a year, or £4.6 billion worth of fuel .

By using more fuel to run their cars, drivers are also causing more damage to the environment through increased carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions .

The amount of fuel being wasted is estimated to be equal to 9.3 million tonnes of additional CO2 emissions .

Of the tyres examined by Bridgestone, over a quarter (26.5 per cent) were found to be seriously under-inflated – at least 7psi below the car manufacturer's recommended tyre pressures.

A further 7.5 per cent were found to be severely under-inflated, with the level of pressure at least 11psi below the recommended level, while 17 per cent of tyres were classed as illegal as they were worn below the EU legal minimum tread depth of 1.6mm.

The safety checks also showed that around 9 per cent of the tyres were both severely worn and severely under-inflated.