Goodyear carried out a tyre pressure monitoring operation in Hazeldonk, the Netherlands. Goodyear’s staff looked at the pressure of 400 wheels – examining trucks and trailers alone. In addition to pressure, they also looked at wear and all other tyre-related problems.
The results show that the pressure in the tires was on average 12.8% lower than it should have been. This equates to an extra cost of €900 a year due to the extra fuel consumption together with the cost caused by increased wear.
“Despite our warnings and recommendations, 3 out of 4 truck combinations are still running on underinflated tyres. This is not only bad for the carrier’s budget, but also for the driver’s safety. Correct tyre pressure is also better for the environment,” commented Goodyear Nederland’s Fleet Business Manager Ymen de Boer on the results.
The campaign also found that 10% of the vehicles inspected missed their due tyre maintenance. One vehicle turned out to be running on a flat tyre.
Tyre pressure could not be measured on 10 tyres because the valve was defective.
“Overdue tyre maintenance comes at the expense of safety and is bad for the environment. Even something as simple as a broken or inaccessible valve puts the vehicle at a higher risk of a flat tyre (after all, the pressure cannot be checked), causing the driver hours of delay and in the worst case an accident. Trucks that break down often also cause traffic jams, which could be avoided by good maintenance. Of course, a tyre pressure that is too low leads to excessive fuel consumption and a negative impact on CO2 footprints,” explained De Boer.