On the occasion of World Environment Day, Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) reached out to motorists urging them to maintain proper tyre inflation and help the environment.
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ATMA Reaching out to People on World Environment Day
“Tyres account for 20-30% of fuel consumption in a vehicle. Tyre care and maintenance is one of the easiest ways to help environment. Unfortunately tyre pressure is the amongst the most neglected maintenance aspects in a vehicle. On World environment Day, we tried to sensitise the motorists on importance of proper tyre inflation,” said Rajiv Budhraja, Director General ATMA.
ATMA ambassadors engaged with the motorists at public places including markets and parking lots etc drawing attention to the importance of proper tyre inflation and distributed booklets on tyre care.
In one of the largest exercises of its kind involving a series of Tyre Safety clinics over one year, more than 100 service engineers from ATMA member companies carried out inspection of over 22000 tyres across different cities including New Delhi, Chennai, Mysore, Chandigarh and Greater Noida. The survey found that over 50% of the cars do not have properly maintained tyre pressure.
Besides improving fuel economy, tyre pressure plays a vital role in overall safety of a vehicle. Especially in a tropical country such as India where scorching heat is common in summers, checking tyre pressure before embarking on a long journey is essential but rarely undertaken.
Under inflation increases the surface area of a tyre in contact with the road leading to more friction and generation of heat which could lead to tyre failure. Similarly over inflation is dangerous since air further expands in heat and a worn-out tyre may not be able to sustain the increased pressure.
“‘Maintain Tyres : Help Environment‘ is a campaign that we plan to run throughout the year. An animation film has been specially made and launched on the social media for wider circulation”, added Rajiv Budhraja.
ATMA members which have been participating in Tyre Safety campaigns include Apollo Tyres, Birla Tyres, Bridgestone India, CEAT, Continental India, Goodyear India, JK Tyre & Industries, Michelin, MRF, TVS Tyres and Yokohama.
About ATMA
ATMA is amongst the most active national industry bodies in the country representing Rs. 55000 crore (US$8 bn) automotive tyre industry. Eleven large tyre companies comprising mix of Indian and International tyre majors and representing over 90% of production of tyres in India are members of the Association. ATMA members include Apollo Tyres, Birla Tyres, Bridgestone India, Ceat, Continental India, Goodyear India, JK Tyre & Industries, Michelin, MRF, TVS Tyres and Yokohama.
