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Road deaths rise as maintenance takes a back seat

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28 September 2012

Tyre related deaths
Don’t let this happen to you or one of your drivers because you’re trying not to spend on the maintenance budget. Lack of tyre care led to a rise in tyre-related accidents and deaths

Story: RALPH MORTON

We all know that SME businesses are under financial pressure to keep cash in the bank and limit spending.

But reducing spend – or the temptation to skip on the maintenance of the business cars in your company car park – has led to a concerning rise in road deaths caused by tyres that have worn down to illegal status.

The figures have been revealed by TyreSafe, the tyre safety organisation, which has pointed out that tyre related accidents increased sharply in 2011.

Revealed from Department for Transport accident figures, 205 people were killed or seriously injured in an accident where illegal, defective or under-inflated tyres were a contributory factor, TyreSafe points out.

Legal tyre tread
Use the 20p check (above) to ensure you have enough tyre tread depth

The increase is 8 per cent above the previous year’s figures and marks the first upward trend since TyreSafe started recording tyre-related accident stats.

“These latest figures are very disturbing, especially given that the number of casualties in all road accidents also rose for the first time in many years. It really does reinforce the need for drivers to regularly inspect their tyres to make sure they are safe and legal,” said Stuart Jackson, chairman, TyreSafe.

For business car managers, it will be worth dishing out some company car advice to spend a little tlc on their car – check tyre pressures, check tread depth, and so on. It’s important for small businesses not to overlook such maintenance as part of its health and safety responsibility to staff.

TyreSafe says that if your company car drivers are not sure what they should be looking for, point them in the direction of one of the many garages and tyre retailers that are offering free tyre safety checks during October’s Tyre Safety Month.

If you want to find out more on October’s Tyre Safety month, visit www.tyresafe.org.

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Matt Morton

Matt Morton

Matt Morton is an automotive content writer for Business Car Manager

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