The importance of tyre safety campaigns to make our roads safer

The Red Marlin team recently attended a very informative TyreSafe briefing, where the importance of tyre safety campaigns was discussed by policy makers, charities and manufacturers. 

Shockingly, over 2 million MOT fails are caused by tyre defects each year, and when an MOT advisory is given on tyres, over 35 per cent ignore it by the time their next test comes around. 

This reinforces the message that motorists must take tyre safety seriously, not only through knowledge, but having the motivation to change their behaviour – underlining the essential need for tyre safety campaigns. 

Our latest blog looks at the key factors in driving effective tyre safety campaigns, including responsibility, collaboration and increased focus. 

Responsibility matters in tyre safety campaigns 

Tyre safety campaigns have the power to make motorists accountable, reminding them that it’s not just about their own safety, but also their passengers, such as family members, together with other road users and pedestrians. 

For some, it can be easy to overlook the safety critical nature of tyres when going about their daily business. 

For examples, many motorists may not realise that the stopping distance at 70mph on worn tyres is seven times greater than the stopping distance when driving under the influence of alcohol. 

It’s armed with such alarming statistics that road safety organisations and campaigners can drive home the message with tyre safety campaigns – making motorists not only aware of their responsibility, but inspired to take action. 

A team effort for tyre safety 

The TyreSafe briefing looked at how tyre safety fits into the wider road safety conversation, while highlighting that advocating for tyre safety is most effective when spoken with one voice. 

Indeed, a collaborative effort, pulling together the tyre industry, road safety charities, organisations such as the Road Safety Trust, and grassroots initiatives, remains vital for change. 

As clearly shown at the TyreSafe briefing, held at the National Motorcycle Museum earlier this month, everyone is calling for collaboration and enthusiastically playing their part by encouraging people to take tyre safety more seriously. 

Are tyres the missing link in improving road safety? 

Tyres could be the most overlooked factor in cause and prevention for road safety. 

Jamie Hassall, executive director at The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS), posed the question as to what is the missing link in road safety, saying we have five-star cars and five-star roads, so why are there still so many injuries and deaths? Could it be through the only point of contact between the two – tyres. 

Building on this, many at the conference were calling increases focus on the importance of tyres, building on the ‘Fatal Four’ causes, (speeding, driving under the influence of drink and drugs, not wearing a seatbelt and mobile phone use), and renaming incident causes as the ‘Fatal Five’ to include dangerous tyres. 

Tyres are also not considered in the insurance sector. Increased focus and incentives, such as through lower insurance premiums to reward those who can clearly demonstrate that they look after their tyres, could also make motorists pay much closer attention to the condition of their tyres and be used as key positioning in tyre safety campaigns. It makes sense that if a driver’s behaviour improved safety, such as reducing speed, then tyre maintenance should be given equal importance. 

Experience in tyre safety campaigns 

The team at Red Marlin has enjoyed a long relationship with the tyre industry, not least securing coverage through our PR work highlighting the importance of tyre safety on The One Show on BBC One. 

We know how important it is to bridge the knowledge gap for motorists and road safety, but also the importance in building on this to tackle apathy and inspire motorists to take responsibility and action. 

To find out more about our campaign work, and for a no obligation chat, please get in touch.