Protyre News

One of the most prestigious football clubs in the world, Chelsea FC, has provided official support to the UK’s tyre safety awareness charity, TyreSafe.

The premier league team’s Managing Director, Christian Purslow, said: “Each week, our teams, staff and tens of thousands fans travel to matches and activities across the country and beyond, and one of our priorities is doing everything we can to help them arrive safely. Tyres have a critical role to play and by becoming an official supporter of TyreSafe we hope to spread the message to our fans that carrying out regular checks will reduce their chances of a tyre-related incident.”

Chelsea supporters were made aware of Tyre Safety Month’s message at Stamford Bridge this time last year; messages were played at the end of the match prompting their fans to check their tyres before they left the stadium. The message was reiterated in the matchday programmes with features on tyre safety brought in association with Yokohama, the official shirt sponsor of Chelsea FC. This year’s activities will be announced later this month.

Stuart Jackson, Chairman at TyreSafe, said: “TyreSafe’s tenth anniversary year has seen us achieve charity status, deliver three targeted campaigns, an innovative app, and the largest ever survey of tyres at the point of replacement to inform road safety policy. It’s been an outstanding year which has helped us grow our supporter base, and with it the reach of the tyre safety message. Having the official support of Chelsea FC in spreading awareness of the regular checks motorists should be carrying out is simply fantastic and demonstrates the relevance of this potentially life-saving advice to anyone using a vehicle on the road.”

TyreSafe recommends that motorists check their tyres regularly, at least once a month, and before a long journey. A tyre’s tread depth is essential for providing grip, especially in wet weather; the minimum legal limit for cars and vans is 1.6mm. To measure your tread depth, place a 20p coin inside the main grooves across the tyre, try various points around its circumference. If you can see the outer rim at any point, your tyres may have too little tread. If this is the case, you’re not only risking yours & your passenger’s safety but also a £2500 fine and three penalty points per tyre every time you drive!

Motorists should also check for evidence of damage such as, lumps, bumps, cuts or cracking on a tyre. Any damage can increase the risk of failure whilst driving. It is essential to check the tyre air pressure too. A tyre that is lacking in air will have a negative impact on how a vehicle corners and brakes, an underinflated tyre will also result in increased fuel consumption and makes the tyre more vulnerable to damage. The air pressure information can be found in either the handbook, fuel filler cap, or the plaque inside the door shut or glove compartment, and occasionally needs to be amended when the vehicle is fully loaded.

It’s not worth the risk, visit your local Protyre and claim your free tyre check today!

To find out more information about Tyre Safety Month visit www.tyresafe.org