5% of truck tires in the UAE are damaged and 3% are not properly inflated

Dubai: «Gulf»
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Tire safety is a key component of truck safety in the UAE. Truck tire wreckage littering the roads is a common sight. This poses a great danger, not only to the trucks themselves, but also to the traffic on these roads.
The Abu Dhabi Integrated Transport Centre, Al Masaood Group, Bridgestone and RoadSafetyUAE have teamed up to raise awareness of tire safety among truck drivers and show appreciation for their efforts in this initiative. This event, which took place in the second week of November, is the second in a series of events that the campaign partners intend to carry out.
As part of the two campaigns that took place at the central weighing station of the Integrated Transport Center of the Department of Municipalities and Transport in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the Mussafah region, a total of 640 truck tires were inspected, and found that 3 percent of these tires were under-inflated and 6 percent of them were over-inflated. Even more serious, 5 percent of the tires were damaged and 8 percent of the tire valves were inaccessible.
change
And while tire rotation (swapping their positions, front to back and left to right) can play an important role in extending tire life, the truck survey found that 46% of tires needed this type of realignment. Air valves are also very important in maintaining tire pressure and valve caps are also essential in preventing air leaks from the breather and preventing valve failure, but 44% of truck tire valve caps examined it was missing, which is not satisfactory.
rewards
In addition to tire inspections, more than 150 truckers received in-kind gifts in appreciation and were also involved in tire safety awareness sessions addressing the importance of properly inflated tires, the importance of tire pressure to support the maximum load of the truck – carrying capacity, speed and drivability between the high outside temperature and the resulting internal temperature of the tire, and the precautions that drivers should take to avoid tire explosion and other hazards.
Daily challenges
Salah Adeeb, General Manager of Tyres, Batteries and Accessories Division at Al Masaood Group, said: “We have taken this initiative as a logical extension of our business to help address some of the daily traffic safety challenges facing drivers in the ‘Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The quality of tires and the way they are used play a very important role in the fuel consumption and emissions of trucks due to their rolling resistance. The effectiveness of tires and the way they move along the road, and therefore their safety, performance, comfort and stability on unpaved or wet roads, is not only influenced by their age and wear, but also by their inflation pressure . Therefore, while maintaining the correct inflation pressure, the tires will perform better, wear less and improve the fuel consumption of the vehicle thanks to the lower rolling resistance”.
Performance increase
Stefano Sanchini, Regional General Manager, Bridgestone Middle East and Africa, said: “Regular tire maintenance allows for increased safety, reduced downtime and improved performance. With our second tire safety campaign, we are continuously striving to improve the performance of truck fleets and the mobility of our customers and partners and contribute to the safety of the transport sector by gaining data-driven and actionable insights. Routine checks also help improve safety and improve profitability at the same time, especially with tires and “rims,” ​​which are off-road wheels that require maintenance by operators before each shift. We believe these initiatives will help the industry educate technicians and drivers about the laws governing truck tire inspection. In line with this, we continue to encourage truck owners, operators and others working in this sector to improve safety within the industry.”
basic ingredients
Thomas Edelmann, founder and CEO of RoadSafetyUAE, said: “It is clear that the safety of trucks and their tires and the safety of their drivers are the main components of traffic safety in the UAE. It is important to regularly inspect and maintain truck tires, educate drivers and show our appreciation for their hard work.”