Don’t let pressure get to you, caravanners urged

THE temperature is rising… but caravanners are urged to not let the pressure get to them. Tyre pressure that is.

Towing a caravan can be hazardous enough in some road conditions, and with the attitude of some road users, but don’t let under-inflated tyres blow out and cause problems.

Leading UK road safety charity TyreSafe is urging caravan owners to double check their tyre pressures before taking to the roads.

To back up its tyre safety message, figures released from the AA show that not surprisingly the summer months are by far the busiest for its patrol crews dealing with caravan and trailer tyre related incidents.

In fact, it actually dealt with more than 1,500 requests for help from the start of May to the end of September in 2012, compared to just 622 for the other seven months of the year.

Stuart Jackson, chairman, TyreSafe, said: “More often than not, tyre issues can be avoided if the tyres are properly maintained and regularly inspected.

“This includes checking the air pressure on both the car and caravan, not forgetting any spares. Tyres that are underinflated are more likely to suffer from a rapid deflation and potential loss of control of the vehicle.”

Other areas to pay attention to for a safer journey include inspecting the tyre tread depth to make sure it is above the legal minimum requirement. To ensure compliance with tread depth regulations across Europe, a minimum tread depth of 1.6mm across the full tread width is recommended.

Meanwhile, it is also recommended that the tyres are given a thorough visual inspection looking for any tears, cuts or bulges. If there are signs of any of these then professional tyre advice should be immediately sought.

“You can go a long way to avoiding roadside misery by simply making sure your tyres are safe and legal. After all, nobody wants the hassle and inconvenience that can come with a breakdown which could have been avoided,” added Jackson.

To help caravan owners understand the importance of tyre safety, TyreSafe has a dedicated caravan section on its website www.tyresafe.org.