Tag Archives: tyres

Continental are one of the biggest names in the tyre business but that’s not all they do. It’s hard to name a single car on the market that doesn’t have some component supplied by this huge company. Regularly, they invite us up to the frozen North to try their latest tyres but this year, we’d also get a chance to test some of their active safety systems. Our trip began in a classroom, about half way up Sweden. For a thoroughly fascinating afternoon, the boffins explained their latest breakthroughs, including intelligent tyres and wheels capable of altering rim width and pressure to adapt to prevailing conditions. Intelligent tyres are three to five years away. Already, we have tyres with embedded pressure sensors which pass their data to the car over a radio link. These prototypes are conductive and the data passes through the tyre itself. They are also able to instantly detect a puncture and can measure temperature, pressure, tread …

Motorists across the country are being warned to avoid a nightmare, post-Christmas return to work on “flat battery Tuesday” which falls on January 3. Research from leading roadside assistance provider, Allianz Global Assistance Ireland, shows demand for jump-starts dramatically increases on the first day back to work after Christmas due to cars not being driven over the extended holiday period. The company received a 30% increase in flat battery call-outs on the first day back to work in January 2016. Figures also show an increase in calls for flat tyres and clutch faults on that day. Roland Hesse, managing director, Allianz Global Assistance Ireland, said, “We strongly advise motorists to avoid a ‘flat battery Tuesday’ commuter meltdown this January. Every year we see an increase in calls on the first day back to work after Christmas because cars have not been used over the holiday period. We advise motorists to drive their cars at regular intervals over the break in order …

Ennis and Clare motorists are being advised to check their car or vehicle tyres monthly, as a Road Safety Authority report identifies defective tyres, including low tyre pressure, as a very significant factor in road deaths. Defective tyres are one of the most significant factors causing road fatalities, according to Ennis Fine Gael councillor, Johnny Flynn. A former chief fire officer, he said improving awareness around safety on our roads is an ongoing priority. The RSA report shows that vehicle factors played a role in one in eight fatal collisions during the period between 2008 and 2012. Defective tyres represented almost two thirds of the vehicle factors identified. The recently published report is the first of its kind to be launched in Ireland, and it analyses An Garda Síochána’s Forensic Collision Investigation reports. According to Councillor Flynn, “This report paints a stark picture of the causes of road fatalities in Ireland. In a four-year period between 2008 and 2012, 983 …