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Apr 2, 2015

DANGEROUS TRUCKS * USA: Half of the trucks, had overburdened tires because of heavy loads or low air pressure

* Michigan - Many tractor-trailers on Texas roads exceed tires’ safety ratings

-- Many tractor-trailers on the roads across Texas and the nation are driven faster than the 75 mph their tires are designed to handle, a practice that has been linked to wrecks and blowouts but has largely escaped the attention of highway officials... Nearly all truck tires have been built for a maximum sustained speed of 75 mph since the middle of last decade, when drivers across the vast majority of the U.S.A. were allowed to go no faster than 65 or 70 mph... But 14 states, mainly west of the Mississippi River, now have speed limits of 75, 80, even 85 mph in part of Texas. Some of those states acted without consulting the tire industry... Safety advocates and tire experts say that habitually driving faster than a tire’s rated speed can generate excessive heat that damages the rubber, with potentially catastrophic results... Last month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closed the investigation into blowouts involving certain Michelin tires after determining that truck operators, not the tires, were at fault. As part of the Michelin investigation, the agency tested trucks and surveyed over a dozen drivers in Pennsylvania, finding that more than half had overburdened tires because of heavy loads or low air pressure. Sixty percent of drivers didn’t know the proper inflation pressure for the trucks they were driving... 
(Photo by LAURA SKELDING/AP - In this Dec. 16, 2011, photo, a tanker truck speeds down Interstate 35 in Austin,TXS)  --  Detroit, MICH, USA - ASSOCIATED PRESS/The Star Telegram, by TOM KRISHERTHE -31 March 2015

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posted by Unknown @ 6:38 AM  0 comments

Apr 28, 2011

TIRES * Europe - Study: 71% of european drivers need more air in their tires

(The Bridgestone study checked 38,000 cars in 9 European countries)
London,EN,UK -Gizmag, by Bridget Borgobello -April 27, 2011: ...  a very effective way to reduce fuel consumption and cut emissions is right in front of us – air. A study recent study by tire manufacturer Bridgestone suggests that it's not only easy to forget, most of us do forget. The company checked 38,000 cars in 9 European countries during 2010 with results showing that 71% of the drivers were driving on under-inflated tires... Bridgestone equates the 71% figure to wasting €2.8 billion per year (2 billion liters) due to improper tire usage. And the environmental impact – 4.8 million tons of additional and preventable carbon emissions per year or 1.8g/km for every car on the road... Low tire inflation means poor tire rolling resistance, which is a major factor in how much fuel a car uses. Bridgestone estimates that taking into account road and weather conditions, tire rolling resistance represents 18% to 26% of the total force on a car. Low tire pressure also impacts on safety by reducing a vehicles' handling ability, increasing drifting and making tires wear out faster...  Other key findings of the study include:
 

• 7.5% of vehicles checked were using seriously under inflated tires (0.5 % severely under inflated)
• 1 out of 14 motorists are putting their safety at risk due to seriously under-inflated tires and/or worn out tires
• 2% of the tires checked have 30% reduced mileage due to under inflation
• 11.7% of tires checked had a tread depth below the legal level of 1.6 mm
• 12.2 million tires are lost because of premature wear
• 7.5% of checked drivers face significantly higher fuel consumption because of low inflation pressure.


* France - Michelin’s Sales Jump 28% on Higher Truck Demand

Paris,France-Bloomberg/TTNews -22 April 2011: -- Tire maker Michelin & Cie. said its first-quarter revenue rose 28%, led by surging demand in truck tires and a general economic rebound... Sales rose to 5.05 billion euros ($7.36 billion) from 3.94 billion euros a year earlier, France-based Michelin said in a statement... It forecast a full-year volume gain of at least 6.5% as the economic recovery boosts sales to European trucking operators...  The company said tire price increases, announced or already implemented, will offset about 80 percent of the estimated full- year costs through higher raw material costs... (Image from Michelin)

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Mar 26, 2009

TIRES * USA - DoE testing shows wide-base singles 6-10% more fuel efficient than duals

The fuel-saving claims behind wide-base single tires have been validated by the US Department of Energy

Greenville,SC,USA -Truck News (CAN) -25 March 2009: -- The DoE has released a 383-page report that indicates wide-base single tires are 6-10% more fuel efficient than duals on heavy trucks. The report was based on more than 700,000 miles of real-world testing over the course of four years, according to a release by Michelin... The DoE test compared the Michelin X One single to standard dual tires. The tests revealed a 6% fuel economy improvement overall and as high as 10% with fully-loaded tractor-trailers, according to Michelin...

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posted by Unknown @ 5:12 PM  0 comments

Aug 24, 2007

Tire safety * UK - Extreme heat leads to under-inflation, major factor in aging of tires

Traffic safety office warns drivers about dangerous mix of heat and under inflation

Washington,DC,USA -The Detroit News, by David Shepardson -14 Aug 2007: -- NHTSA's exploding frog commercial intended to get people's attention. "Under-inflation is factor in tread separation"... Many tire failures likely occurring because of sustained high temperature... Tire industry survey found 85% of drivers fail to properly check tire pressure... NHTSA sent Congress 26-page report on research into tire aging. They estimates crashes associated w/ tire problems kill 660 people yearly, injure 33K... NHTSA it's considering regulation measuring tire performance during tire-aging durability tests. Tire makers oppose tire expiration dates... BMW, Ford, Daimler, Chrysler, Toyota, VW back 6-year service tire guidelines...
* USA - Michelin unveils drive tire that regenerates itself, promises 30% more use
Dallas,TX,USA -The Trucker -23 Aug 2007: -- Michelin North American today unveiled at the Great American Trucking Show here the new XDA5, a tire with a tread that company officials say regenerates itself as it wears... Michelin said it is the latest innovation from its Michelin Durable Technologies research for drive tires for Class 8 tractors...

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posted by Unknown @ 4:09 AM  0 comments

Jul 9, 2007

STUDY * Canada - Nitrogen inflation improves tread life, fuel economy

Recent research conducted and funded by nitrogen tire inflation proponent and equipment supplier, Vancouver-based DREXAN, showed improvement in both tire tread life and vehicle fuel economy in a long-haul trucking fleet

Vancouver,BC,Canada -Todays' Trucking -9 July 2007: -- Drexan's president, Konrad Mech researched and authored the study, and presented the results at the 23rd annual Clemson University Tire Industry Conference in South Carolina in March 2007... Nitrogen filled tires maintain proper inflation pressure for longer periods... When used for tire inflation, nitrogen is said to all but eliminate pressure loss because the gas won't penetrate the tire casing the way ordinary air will. As a result, tires maintain proper inflation pressure for longer periods... Harris Transport of Winnipeg paid $8,500 to convert 65 percent of its fleet to Nitrogen... (Picture: Nitrogen filled tires maintain proper inflation pressure for longer periods)

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