Falken promotes tyre safety

Tyre manufacturer, Falken is playing its parts it promoting tyre safety, carrying out a number of tyre checks at schools across the UK.

An evaluation at a Shropshire primary school found eight out of 25 parents’ cars checked were fitted with illegal tyres. The test, conducted by tyre manufacturer Falken, at Moorfield Primary School in Newport, Shropshire, underlines research undertaken by its UK distributor Micheldever.

It found over 56 per cent of 8,900 tyres it removed last month had less than the legal requirement of 1.6mm tread depth. The school car park check also identified one tyre with a nail in it and a further two had tyres over 10 years old. To improve the safety of children being transported to the school, Falken has provided vouchers for free tyres and fitting to the first five owners with illegally worn or damaged tyres.

“The results today confirm what our dealers are saying. There are a significant proportion of cars running on illegal or dangerous tyres,” says Matt Smith, Falken’s UK director. “Tyres are a crucial element in road safety and for a number of reasons it is often a distress purchase, left until the last minute.” Falken cites the current economic strain felt by families as a key factor, after its dealer Micheldever revealed that pre-recession, in 2008, the number of illegal tyres it recorded was 15 per cent, over 40 percent lower than today’s figure.

Following the success of the event in Shropshire, Falken is planning to roll it out to other schools across the UK. “Based on our findings here in the Midlands, it would seem that there is much to do to educate the public about checking tread depth,” adds Smith.