Highways England launches initiatives to drive down motorway and major road incidents

To slash road causalities by 40% by 2020 and combat last year’s 8 tyre-related fatalities and 120 serious injuries, 8101 Highways England (HE) has revealed a series of initiatives to mark the end of the Tyre Safety month. Working with the NHS and tyre manufactures, HE is helping family drivers, commuters and commercial drivers keep tyres in top condition. Some of these plans are already being delivered.

HE deals with over 3,500 wheel or tyre-related incidents every month. UK government figures suggest 1 in 12 heavy goods vehicles tyres is dangerously underinflated with the figure 1 in 8 for cars. In addition, many car drivers, commercial van and lorry drivers do not know the correct pounds per square inch for their vehicles while commercial drivers often leave tyre maintenance to their depots and do not check pressures themselves – with hard to reach tyres (inside of axles).

A recently launched %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external video false https://vimeo.com/234869262/3a7823bb00 false false%> in partnership with Baby Box University showed how to make a 1-minute vehicle fitness check before taking to the roads as well as providing physical and online resources for expectant new parents. As part of the launch event, HE also provided tyre tread checkers in baby boxes.

Other initiatives being refined or developed include two pilot schemes in Lancashire and Yorkshire equipping firefighters with mobile 3D scanners to give drivers tread depth readings and safety advice at safety events. In addition, equipping HE’s own Traffic Officer Service with hundreds of manual tread gauges so they can help drivers make judgements about tyre health at public events. Investigating ways of quickly scanning vehicles, especially lorries, for tyre tread depth, overheating brakes or axles which can cause lorries to break down, leading to congestion. Working with tyre firm Bridgestone to analyse the causes of tyre-related incidents and tyre damage – including promoting better tyre ‘husbandry’ among drivers and commercial fleet operators, with a focus on regular tyre checks and debris-free depot maintenance. Finally, developing a pilot initiative with 8005 WheelRight Ltd, where drivers stopping at Keele Motorway Service Area used a drive-through sensor station with an instant print-out facility to check the health of their tyres before heading back onto the motorway.  

Tyre-related incidents can be caused by under-inflation or over-inflation, bulges, blisters and cracks and other signs of weathering – often seen on towed vehicles which are often only used seasonally.