Some 1000 visitors took part in Michelin Malaysia’s recent MICHELIN Fill Up With Air 2014 campaign in Tanjung Pinang, Penang to discover the importance of correct tyre pressure and road safety. The recent two day campaign transformed part of the Ground Floor Car Park of Tesco Tanjung Pinang into a special pit stop station for drivers to have their tyre pressure checked and filled up with the correct pressure for free.
“Millions of drivers put themselves at risk everyday by failing to properly check the tyre pressure of their vehicles. In fact, an alarming rate of three out of four cars run on under-inflated tyres, compromising road safety, decreasing tyre service life and increasing fuel consumption. For the environment, this means tonnes of additional and unnecessary carbon emissions annually,”said Beltran Yturriaga, Managing Director of Michelin Malaysia Sdn Bhd.
According to Yturriaga, the MICHELIN Fill Up With Air campaign, is the company’s on-going effort to educating Malaysian motorists that maintaining the correct tyre pressure and performing regular tyre checks is a sustainable and cost effective way to enhance safety on the road, increase fuel efficiency and tyre longevity while protecting the environment.
“A tyre will not function correctly if it is not properly inflated. In the case of insufficient air pressure, a tyre’s tread life is reduced through increased tread wear on the outer edges of the tyre. It also generates excessive heat which reduces tyre durability and decreases fuel economy due to higher rolling resistance, requiring the affected vehicle to burn more fuel to maintain the same level of desired speed. This forces your vehicle to work harder,” he added.
Although tyres may be an afterthought for many drivers, they are actually one of the most important components of a vehicle because tyres are the only contact a car has with the road. Vehicle handling and control such as braking, accelerating or steering are all key functions made possible by tyres. Therefore, incorrect tyre pressure will undermine a vehicle’s performance and may lead to tyre failure, or worse – accidents.
During the campaign, Michelin Malaysia offered car owners essential guidelines on the importance of regular tyre pressure checks and correct adjustments, and tips on saving fuel consumption and promoting longer tyre life. Members of the public also partook in fun and interactive activities such as road safety briefings, contests and games for children which were held to complement the campaign and create public awareness on the importance of road safety.Deputy Director of the Penang Road Safety Department, Roziah Aziz,and her team was also present at the campaign to lend their support towards the initiative.
Michelin Malaysia organised its first MICHELIN FUWA campaign in 2011 and since then, has performed free tyre pressure checks for more than 4,100 motorists and educated more than 5,100 members of the public on the importance of safety on the road.For more details, please visit our website www.michelin.com.my
