November 27, the Maastricht Bereikbaar project ‘Banden op Spanning’ checked whether your cars’ tyres were at the correct pressure. They have used the following key figures to calculate the results:
We have used the following key figures to calculate the result:
- 50% lease vehicles and 50% private vehicles.
- Lease vehicles drive an average of 34,400 km per year.
- Private vehicles drive an average of 22,000 km per year.
- Current fuel prices.
The graph below shows how much extra fuel is consumed when a vehicle’s tyres are under-inflated.
Justification
Of the total number of checked vehicles, 82.96% had under-inflated tyres. We left a card on the windscreen of all checked vehicles. The consequences of under-inflated tyres are explained on this page. Besides under-inflation, we suspected that a number of vehicles had a flat tyre. They therefore placed a card that draws drivers’ attention to the possible dangers.
If the tyre pressure measured was higher than the minimum recommended pressure, they left it that way. Banden op Spanning never deflates tyres.
The financial savings are based on the expectation that inflating a tyre to the recommended inflation pressure under normal use for three months will have a positive effect on fuel consumption and tyre wear. If our service is used several times a year, the savings are higher.
In addition to the above savings in euros, tyres, fuel, and CO2, their service and applying the correct tyre pressure also contributes to:
- improved road safety thanks to shorter braking distances.
- reduced particulate emissions. Of the 1.5% of particulate matter caused by tyre wear in passenger vehicles, 13% – or 0.2% of national emissions – is caused by under-inflated tyres.
- less traffic noise due to better rolling resistance.
- improved driving comfort.
- an eco-friendly and positive image for Maastricht Bereikbaar.
- increased awareness of the importance of correct tyre pressure.
