News
One in four fleet vehicles could be in need of tyre attention
A quarter of all fleet vehicles in the UK may need tyre replacements in order to remain fit to drive, according to Lloyds TSB autolease, one of the UK’s largest fleet funding and management companies. If the same is true for private as well as business vehicles, that means nearly seven million vehicles are running on potentially dangerous tyres.
The announcement comes after Lloyds TSB autolease, expert tyre partner Hi-Q and leading tyre manufacturer Goodyear Dunlop teamed up to carry out tyre tread checks on a typical fleet of vehicles at a site in Berkshire recently.
The results revealed that out of 730 vehicles – that’s 2,920 tyres – 26 per cent of vehicles had at least one tyre with a tread depth of 2mm or less – a total of 321 tyres on 191 vehicles.
In addition, 30 vehicles were also identified with other potentially dangerous tyre problems including worn edges, cracking, sidewall damage and one with a screw in the tread.
Terry Birch, Technical Services Team Manager at Lloyds TSB autolease comments: “Whilst the minimum legal tread for tyres is 1.6mm, we offer our customers new tyres when they reach 2mm to ensure the highest levels of safety and to allow them flexibility in getting their tyres replaced. 0.4mm of tread depth typically lasts between 250 and 500 miles, depending on driving style, so a driver can easily reach the legal limit in just couple of days. We also offer a mobile tyre service, allowing our customers to have their tyres repaired or replaced at their office or at home."
“Good tyres are absolutely essential for safe driving. Even the smallest change in tyre pressure can impact negatively on the road worthiness of a vehicle and in extreme cases, drivers can face fines and penalty points if the vehicle they are driving is found to have defective tyres. What’s more, how the car is driven will impact hugely on how regular checks need to be."
“And it’s not just an issue of maintaining safety on the roads – under-inflated tyres will increase fuel consumption and ultimately fuel bills. Our advice to fleet managers and drivers is to ensure that tyre checks are carried out on a regular basis to prevent tyre defects and high fuel consumption costs.”
Nikki McCluney, Hi-Q’s Marketing Manager commented, “The Hi-Q tyre tread check service is aimed at helping increase driver safety and awareness and is available to all Lloyds TSB autolease and Hi-Q fleet customers”. For more information, contact Hi-Q on 0800 138 1007.
-ENDS-
For media enquiries, please contact:
Chris Norton or Matt Thompson, Harrison Cowley
Tel: 0870 606 0960 or E-mail: chrisn@harrisoncowley.com
Lawrence Hamilton, Lloyds TSB autolease
Tel: 0161 447 7251 or E-mail: lawrence.hamilton@lloydstsbautolease.co.uk
