A Tyre Safety Awareness Campaign has been launched in Malawi and Zambia by the international development agency Transaid. The Campaign aims to reduce the number of road deaths caused by poor vehicle maintenance in Africa by raising awareness of the importance of good tyre management.

The Tyre Safety Awareness Campaign began with a series of training courses directed by the Training Manager at Michelin’s Stoke-on-Trent Head Office, Phil Rochester. According to Transaid, Africa accounts for 10 per cent of the world’s total road fatalities while owning only 4 per cent of the world’s motor vehicles. The problem is also increasing…and in response Transaid has dedicated its Campaign to promoting Tyre Safety Awareness in the hope of reducing the accidents caused by poorly maintained vehicles.

Michelin directed a total of ten courses over a two-week period, targeting audiences which included road safety agencies, traffic police, public transport operators and road transport operators. The courses were designed to provide basic information on safety assessments, focussing on ways to avoid dangers resulting from inadequate tyre maintenance. In total, the Safety Training was delivered to 270 people from various sectors of the transport industry.

Michelin Training Manager Phil Rochester described the relationship between road fatalities and poor tyre maintenance: “Ignoring the basic rules of tyre safety is a major risk factor which is seeing the number of fatal road traffic crashes in Africa continue to rise, in direct proportion to the increasing number of vehicles.”

On behalf of the company, Rochester explained: “Michelin was keen to support Transaid in its campaign to raise awareness of the issues, and we felt the best way to do this was ‘on the ground’ with a series of training courses tackling key target audiences. One of our key messages was to emphasise that better tyres mean safer roads, and safer roads will result in fewer crashes.”

According to the Michelin Manager, the response to the Campaign was encouraging: “The groups we spoke to were incredibly receptive to this message, and were quick to understand the benefits of routinely checking tyre pressures, tread depth and general tyre condition.”

In addition to the support from Michelin, the Transaid project has benefited from sponsorship by companies such as Bandvulc Tyres, who have developed and supplied materials including promotional stickers for the Campaign.

Transaid has promoted the Tyre Safety campaign with activities and advertising intended to disseminate the message of Tyre Safety. Discussions were held with drivers in Malawi and Zambia concerning tyre pressure, wear and damage, in addition to the training courses directed by Michelin.

Having directly engaged over 300 individuals in Malawi and Zambia, Transaid hopes that the message of Tyre Safety will be disseminated quickly. Transaid believes that the regulatory and law enforcement agencies have become more aware of the dangers and impact of inadequate tyre maintenance, and hopes that more frequent tyre inspections will commence along with the enforcement of existing regulations.

The Campaign has affected a wide and diverse audience of road-users, from tyre dealers and repair specialists to public transport operators, in the hope of promoting Tyre Safety understanding and awareness to conserve and protect. The Tyre Safety Campaign has potentially benefited drivers, passengers and pedestrians by educating and training key groups in Africa.

http://www.reifenpresse.de/CDML007/en/gast/fs_kurzmeldungen.html
http://www.transaid.org/projects/malawi-and-zambia,-tyre-safety-awareness-campaign,-2007

Unauthorised tyre imports are being targeted by Goodyear Dunlop.

With reports of a significant decline in sales for British tyre companies, pressure has been put on dealers to buy cheaper, and the temptation to resort to international suppliers has increased. However, the strict regulations concerning the official authorization of tyres intended for use in the U.K are being frequently overlooked in the process. These regulations are in place to ensure tyre safety… that tyres are suited for the specific road conditions in Britain. Tyres imported internationally run the risk of differing in design specifications and therefore pose a tyre safety risk to British drivers.

Goodyear Dunlop’s concern about tyre safety has led them to investigate the increasing problem of illegal tyre imports. A series of investigations due to take place within the next three months has begun with legal proceedings against a retail supplier in the South East of England, who has been dealing in unauthorised imports, illegal tyres, carrying the Goodyear Dunlop brand name.

This is the beginning of a campaign launched by Goodyear Dunlop, designed to reduce the tyre safety risks posed to U.K customers by using imported tyres that are not designed for British road conditions, and have not been subject to official approval. The offending tyres hail mainly from Asian and African markets and have been designed specifically for these environments, where the climate differs dramatically from conditions in the U.K.

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