Efficiency Transport
Wheel deal
The role that better tyres can play in improving vehicle efficiency and reducing fuel consumption is often overlooked. But, thanks to a new campaign, that could be about to change. Flemmich Webb reports
ising fuel costs, increasing regulation, the economic downturn and environ- mental concerns — these are tough times for fleet operators, who are increasingly looking at a range of strategies to keep their vehicles moving along the UK and Europe’s roads. One aspect of vehicle management, which is often overlooked, is tyre selection and mainte- nance. Most of the focus has been, until now, on fuel mix, particulate traps and logistics effi- ciency – making sure, for instance, that lorries are full on their return journeys. Now a new campaign, run by Environmental Protection UK, has been launched to draw attention to the importance of using better tyres. “The Campaign for Better Tyres aims to encourage fleet managers to cut fuel bills and help the environment by buying tyres for their vehicles that are fuel efficient, quieter and safe,” says campaign manager Carina Perkins. So how can tyres be “better”? Surely, a tyre is a tyre? Not true, says Graham Willson, chief executive of the British Tyre Manufacturers Association. “Tyre design is a balancing act: good mileage requires harder compounds that give poorer wet grip, for example. Major manufacturers spend hundreds of millions of pounds a year developing new materials to overcome this problem.
R
“Today’s premium products incorporate hi-tech materials that overcome the old com-
26 | Sustainable Business | June 2011
promises: these tyres give improved perfor- mance on every level.”
Such materials include silica compounds, which reduce rolling resistance – the friction caused by tyres travelling along the road surface. Lower rolling resistance means less power is needed to drive the vehicle forward, which means a reduction in fuel consumption – up to 10%, according to tests carried out by the European Commission.
Using less fuel means a reduction in trans- port carbon dioxide emissions. “If we all switched to these tyres, we could save 6.6M tonnes of oil a year in Europe by 2020 – which is as much as the annual consumption of Hungary,” says Perkins. “We could also
cut CO2 emissions by as much as 4M tonnes a year, equivalent to taking 1.3M cars from the roads.”
For fleet managers, that would represent a substantial cut in fuel costs. Better tyres also have better ‘wet grip’. In other words they handle better and allow vehicles to stop quicker (by as much as 18 metres) – both of which improve safety for staff and other road users. “With the advent of the Corporate Manslaughter Act, fleet operators need to be sure that replacement tyres offer the same safety performance as the original equipment as well as the best overall cost per mile,” says Willson. “Fitting premium tyres gives peace of mind and long-term economic benefit.”
The Campaign for Better Tyres is encouraging fleet managers to cut fuel bills and help the envi- ronment by choosing fuel efficient tyres
There are public health benefits too. Tyre rolling noise is the dominant source of dis- turbance from a vehicle at speeds above about 25mph; better tyres are designed to have minimal rolling noise – about a third less – welcome news for the 6M people in the UK that the Health Protection Agency says are exposed to loud levels of traffic noise, and a chance for fleets to highlight their social responsibility and differentiate themselves from competitors.
New legislation
Technological developments mean that these tyres are already available from premium manufacturers, but forthcoming legislation will mean they will be even easier to get hold of. The European Commission (EC) has recognised the benefits of better tyres and will introduce a new tyre labelling law from November 2012, designed to help fleet man- agers, company drivers and consumers choose
the right tyres to cut noise, reduce CO2 emissions and improve fuel economy. Tighter standards on rolling resistance, noise and wet weather performance will also be introduced. Under the new labelling regulation, all tyres produced after July 2012 and on sale in the
www.sustainablebusinessonline.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52