News: Under-inflated Tires Waste 5.3B Liters of Fuel/Year in Europe

[MetroMPG]

Via GCC:

Probably not surprising to anyone here.

At least those of us in the northern hemisphere who may have been neglecting checking pressures are heading into the time of year when they'll be creeping back up with the ambient temperatures.

If one were inclined to be an evangelist on automotive efficiency issues, this would probably be a good topic to evangelize upon as an educational issue.

Some 38% of vehicles in the EU are driving on under-inflated or severely under-inflated tires, according to calculations by Bridgestone’s Technical Centre Europe, based on the company’s 2007 survey of 38,867 vehicles in 19 countries. As a result of under-inflation, those vehicles are wasting 5.3 billion liters (1.4 billion gallons US) of fuel annually, at a cost of €7 billion (US$10.8 billion), according to Bridgestone.

...

Bridgestone gathered the data in free check-ups conducted at shopping centers and public car parks. The check-ups are part of the “Think Before You Drive” safety education campaign, a worldwide joint initiative between the FIA Foundation (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile), Bridgestone Corporation and national motoring clubs, launched in 2005.

More: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008...-inflated.html

[Peter7307]

I remember reading years ago of a survey done at a performance car magazine.
10 cars tested for tyre pressures and 9 were low ! The tenth one was as per the makers rating.

It really is unsurprising as you said at the start.

Pete.

[SVOboy]

The little things all add up, na? I guess that's the idea to drill into people's heads.

[MetroMPG]

There actually was an awareness campaign to get regular people to care about their tire pressure (why do I not like calling it that... It's air pressure, isn't it?). It got some press last year. I think it was started by a young girl in the States.