The Automotive Blog

As this week marks the 10th annual National Camping and Caravanning Week (29 May – 4 June 2010). TyreSafe has recognised the importance of caravan tyre safety by launching a new section on its website dedicated to this topic. The idea being to give avid caravanners technical tips and information aimed at keeping caravan owners safe and legal on the roads.

The popularity of camping and caravanning has grown massively in recent years and many of those new to caravanning may not appreciate the high demands placed on their caravan’s tyres,” explains Stuart Jackson, chairman, TyreSafe. “Making sure your caravan’s tyres are in a good condition, correctly inflated and not overloaded is a vital factor in staying safe on the road. The new caravan section on our website is designed to clearly explain these key issues and provide some practical tips and advice that owners can follow with ease, helping to ensure their holiday journeys pass off without incident.”

aide automotive has two products that help with tyre pressure monitoring and are ideal for caravans motorhomes and cars.  Air Alert and PressurePro are two slightly different systems that aid motorists in ensuring they have the correct tyre pressure for their vehicle.

Air Alert - Tyre Pressure Monitor Device

PressurePro - Tyre Pressure Monitor

Tyre Pressure monitoring is an important part of a vehicles maintenance programme especially in light of a recent report. The number of tyre-related deaths and accidents in the UK is likely to increase after new research has revealed that more than one in ten drivers is more likely to buy part worn tyres compared with 12 months ago, probably as a result of the state of the economy

TyreSafe, the UK’s leading tyre safety group have issued the findings and a partner organisation to the Driving for Better business campaign, which is managed by RoadSafe. It has warned that not only could part worn tyres be a false economy, but they could pose a significant safety hazard to drivers and other road users. If drivers purchase second hand tyres they should at the very least check the tread and the tyre pressure of them on a regular basis. By ensuring they have the correct tyre pressure this should prolong the life of the tyre and prevent serious accidents.

Tyre Pressure monitoring is made easy by the tyre pressure device PressurePro, the simple and effective way of tyre pressure monitoring which removes the guesswork of determining the correct tyre pressure of your vehicles

PressurePro takes the guesswork out of tyre pressure monitoring

With the Easter holiday approaching, caravaners and motorhomers who have purchased a PressurePro system need to check their PressurePro wheel sensors are working corectly.

Matthew Burke Says “We always see an increase in replacement sensor sales before holiday periods but the Easter holiday is always a starting point for PressurePro users to check there sensors and order replacements. As caravans and motorhomes have been stored for quite a few months over the previous year and into the new year, sensors could have expired their battery life and require to be replaced.”

aide automotive offer replacement sensors for the PressurePro Tyre Pressure Monitoring System.

With more than 2 million extra caravan holidays predicted in the UK this year, TyreSafe is reminding caravanners to make sure all of their tyres are safe for travel before taking to the road.

Caravans left standing throughout the year can develop flatspots or suffer from exposure to UV rays which may lead to handling issues or premature failure. Additionally, tyre pressures should be checked not only on the caravan, but also on the towing vehicle and adjusted accordingly to take account of the extra load.

Drivers who set off on under-inflated tyres, greatly increase the risk of suffering from rapid tyre deflation and a potentially serious accident.

Drivers who do not meet these legal requirements not only increase the risk of being involved in an accident, but can also incur fines of up to £2,500 and three penalty points per illegal tyre.

aide automotive  promote tyre safety and recommend the PressurePro LIVE tyre pressure monitoring device.

Tyre Pressure Monitoring and Brake Testing are important considerations for any company that operates company vehicles especially now that new sentencing guidelines have been introduced. At the beginning of February the Sentencing Guideline Council published it’s recommended sentencing charges for corporate manslaughter and health and safety offences causing death. These are the first guidelines for sentencing organisations not individuals.  The council uses these guidelines to help courts make decisions on sentencing organisations that have caused death through a serious breach of care of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Tyre Pressure Monitoring and Brake Testing are two ways that organisations with a driving workforce can be vigilant in avoiding accidents at work. Even in the case of an incident some of these products can assist in demonstrating a company has done everything in it’s care to protect its driving workforce. 

New guidelines, which took effect from Monday (February 15), have set out the precise financial risk that organisations face if they have not done everything possible to minimise health and safety hazards with their vehicles.  Such as monitoring their tyre pressure or ensuring brakes are tested on a regular basis

Under these new guidelines, if a work-related road death leads to a prosecution for a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the fine will be ‘…seldom less than £100,000 and may be measured in hundreds of thousands of pounds or more’.

And if conviction of corporate manslaughter is proven, the fine imposed will be ‘…seldom less than £500,000 and may be measured in millions of pounds’.

Tyre Pressure Monitoring and Brake Testing are two ways that organisations with a driving workforce can be vigilant in avoiding accidents at work. Even in the case of an incident some of these products can assist in demonstrating a company has done everything in it’s care to protect its driving workforce.

Recent statistics published by Startrescue  suggest that the recent Big Freeze has affected the condition of the UK’s roads. These conditions in turn have caused an increase in call-outs for tyre and suspension related repairs to rise rapidly in the 2009-2010 winter season. This breakdown recovery service has reported a 13 per cent increase in December and January.

Startrescue.co.uk spokesperson Ricardo Sagnella comments:  “More and more motorists are telling us that their problems are largely due to the thousands of potholes that have appeared since the ice and grit has finally cleared.”

These figures highlight the importance of checking the tyre pressure of your vehicle on a regular basis.  Monitoring Tyre Pressure regularly is made simple by a small investment in a device such as PressurePro.  This tyre pressure monitor takes the guesswork out of determining the correct tyre pressure of your vehicle.

Click Tyre Pressure Monitor for more details

Or click aide automotive for a full list of all of our prodcuts on offer

As britain is going through The Big Freeze maintaining vehicles becomes more important  to ensure that everything is working correctly. Employers don’t need stranded vehicles in cold wintery conditions because of issues such as flat batteries. Similarly in winter weather it’s vital to ensure that their vehicles are in top condition, regularly checking the condition of brakes and tyres can prevent accidents in icy conditions. There are a numberof  products on the market that assist through the winter.

If a company driver is stranded because the battery will not start the vehicle or simply batteries need charging to avoid them not working Check out these links to help fix battery issues

• SOS Battery Booster restores Flat Batteries starting a battery from cold or dead.
• Midtronics Battery Tester confirms a vehicle’s battery efficiency.
• Battery Charging prolongs the life of a battery by keeping it fully charged at all times

To ensure your workforce are driving a safe vehicle in wintery conditions, tyres and brakes should be legal.

• Brake Testing with BrakeCheck the brake tester for commercial vehicles .
• Tyre Pressure Monitoring to ensure your tyres are the correct vehicle PSI

• For Brake Testing try BrakeCheck the Brake Testing device for commercial vehicles
• For flat batteries use SOS Battery Booster. This product can start heavy plant engines up to 1500HP which have been stationary for long periods, in extreme weather conditions and without batteries.
• Tyre Pressure Monitoring is simple to assess with PressurePro.