Free as Air?

Salisbury MP Robert Key is urging all motorists to check their tyre pressures regularly – and he is calling on garage forecourt owners to check the accuracy of their equipment.

Robert Key says, “I was recently approached by a constituent who discovered that his local garage had a gauge that measured his car tyre pressure several pounds lower than a sophisticated gauge at Waitrose Supermarket. He sought my help – and I was alarmed to discover that no-one is responsible for the calibration and accuracy of tyre pressure gauges on garage forecourts. County Council Trading Standards Officers have no duties or powers to check their accuracy or to take steps to prevent continued use of inaccurate gauges. There is a European Union directive that could bring such gauges under compliance by member states – but it is optional.

In the next Parliament I will campaign, on road safety grounds, to get motorists a fair deal on tyre safety. I would prefer a voluntary agreement – but it may take more than that. Meanwhile, the best advice is that motorists should double check each tyre with a pencil-type pressure gauge claiming compliance with a British standard. These will normally be accurate to within plus or minus 2psi”.

In the course of his investigation Robert Key discovered that:

• 20percent under-inflation can increase tyre wear by 25 per cent and reduce tyre life by 30 per cent
• 85 per cent of motorists questioned do not know the correct tyre pressure for their car
• 20 percent under-inflation reduces fuel economy by 3 per cent
• Three quarters of accidents caused by “blowouts” are down to incorrect pressures
• 30 per cent of cars and light trucks have at least one tyre under inflated by 8psi or more