This week is National Tire Safety Week

qiangzi

Tuesday, June 5, 2012
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Washington, DC - This week marks the 11th annual National Tire Safety Week (June 3-9), an RMA initiative dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of tire care. A survey by the Rubber Manufacturers Association, the national trade association for tire manufacturers, show only about one in six vehicles have four properly inflated tires and only 15% of drivers know how to properly check tire pressure. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that under inflated tires contribute to more than 600 fatalities and 33,000 injuries each year. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that under inflated tires wastes more than 1 billion gallons of gasoline annually. A phone survey of 1,000 U.S. drivers, sponsored by RMA, paints a bleak picture of Americans’ tire care knowledge and practices, including: 62% of drivers don’t know where to find the correct inflation pressure for their vehicle’s tires; 43% of drivers don’t know that tires should be checked “cold” – before driving, rather than after driving; 60% of drivers wash their cars once a month, only 15% properly check tire pressure once a month; and 20% of men surveyed vs. 9% of women are tire smart. Another RMA-sponsored survey of more than 6,000 vehicles found: Only 17% of vehicles had four properly inflated tires; 55% of vehicles had at least one under inflated tire; and 15% of vehicles had at least one tire under inflated by 8 pounds per square inch (psi)