Car drivers should go for a smoother ride

This is the government view. It happens to be our view also, and has been for some time.Please see motoring tips.
The idea is that significant carbon emissions can be reduced by more careful and smoother driving.Unnecessary heavy braking and rapid acceleration cause increased fuel consumption and therefore greater carbon emissions.All costing us extra money.


UK Drivers are being urged to watch out for under-inflation

Recently, at the Geneva Car Show,Director-General of the FIA Foundation,David Ward,stressed the importance of motorists regularly checking their car tyre pressures to ensure that they are correct as stipulated in the car manufacturer's handbook. He says that checking your tyres just twice a month could save lives, reduce motoring costs and cut carbon emissions.The rolling resistance of an under-inflated tyre on the road surface is greater than when fully inflated.Therefore the tyre is less efficient and causes greater fuel consumption,as well as heavier tyre wear,and also results in increased cost and compromises safety to the driver and other road users.

A similar safety message was put out this week by Kwik-Fit.David White,customer services director at Kwik-Fit commented: "Motorists might be fooled into thinking that they can check whether a tyre is under-inflated simply by looking at it.But a smaller, yet nonetheless still significant loss of pressure is not always possible to to visually detect.That's why it is so important to regularly check the tyre pressures yourself,or get an expert check them for you."

So could keeping under-inflation of tyres at bay result in such a significant benefit to the environment and to drivers' pockets? Well,Kwik-Fit say they found that one in five cars checked by them had insufficient tyre pressure.From this it is estimated that a staggering five million car drivers were putting themselves and others at risk.This number equates to the combined total of cars registered in Scotland and Wales.A very significant number contributing to pollution.