Black round things are in the headlines again. No, not those big black holes which have been the subject of many a recent blog and the bane of every driver’s life but those black round things that we rely on to keep us on the road.
Tyres are a vital safety component of any vehicle and yet, as is often the case, they are ‘out of sight and out of mind’. We may notice them when we approach a vehicle but do we actually look at them, let alone maintain them? Ensuring tyres are inflated to recommended tyre pressures is not only of paramount safety importance but can save money too, to avoid excessive wear and higher fuel consumption.
The latest tyre survey to come out, this time by mytyres.co.uk, suggests that over half of drivers would only change tyres once below the legal minimum 1.6mm around three quarters of the circumference of the tyre and only two thirds would change a tyre due to a bulged or cracked sidewall.
Quite amazing considering they are reliant on those black round things keeping them glued to the road rather than flying off into the scenery, an oncoming vehicle, innocent cyclist or pedestrian. Frequent checking of tyres for sufficient tread depth and to ensure they are free from damage is something that drivers should do as a matter of course.
Employers who have company car or grey fleet drivers equally need to ensure that drivers are made aware of the prime importance of this, as part of their duty of care responsibilities. It’s too late once a fatality or serious injury has occurred resulting from a tyre failure or insufficient tread depth.
Correct tyre maintenance is an on-going battle.
Tyres are also in the news for other reasons.
We have the extraordinary situation in Grand Prix racing where F1 is apparently attempting to project a green image while encouraging a throwaway tyre culture. In Malaysia, we were treated to the extraordinary sight of black marbles – bits of tyre compound shredded off the tyre surface – littering the sides of the track like never before.
In China, we saw more overtaking in one race than we normally witness in a single season, mainly due to the new tyre scenario. Winner Hamilton passed four cars in the last 20 laps while Mark Webber drove the race of his life from 18th to third spot on the podium. Initially going backwards on his hard tyres, we had the amazing prospect of him potentially securing top honours, which he surely would have done within a couple of laps on his softer options.
All this was made possible by an FIA directive to tyre manufacturer Pirelli to spice up the act by producing tyres of limited tyre life. What PR message is that delivering to the wider world? And to the casual observer, does that not mean that the next time they need tyres replacing they will steer well clear of Pirelli – after all to them they don’t produce tyres that wear well, do they?
The FIA has quite rightly been trying to substantially reduce costs in F1. Encouraging a tyre supplier to produce tyres that wear out quickly goes against the grain, if you’ll pardon the pun. What the FIA should be doing is the total opposite. As engines have to have a multi-race life, tyres should, as a minimum, have a single race life. That would not only be more environmentally friendly but encourage the technological development of grippier, more long lasting tyres – the wholly grail of all things black and round!
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