You’re probably aware that October is Tyre Safety Month, and seeing as we’re now well into it, we thought we’d catch up with Sophie Lyden from Westgate Tyres, a keen campaigner for tyre safety, so much so that she’s known within the industry as “The Tyre Lady”.
Here are the top four things that you should be checking when it comes to customer vehicles, potentially increasing revenue and definitely increasing road safety for us all in the process.
Top four things to check during Tyre Safety Month
As a tyre expert myself, I often forget that some garages may not always be looking toward the condition of tyres when a car comes in for any service. That’s why it is so important regardless of what services you offer, to at least know the basics and look out for key things. This Tyre Safety month I am here to tell you the key things to check when a customer vehicle enters your workshop.
1 – Tyre Tread Depth – In the UK the legal limit for our tyres is 1.6mm however anything below 3mm does not work as efficiently as it did before, especially in the wet. It’s always good to remind your customers of this and show them the 20p trick! (Using the outer band of the 20p as a guide, insert the 20 into your tread and if it sits below the band you need new tyres, if it is above you are good to go!).
2 – Tyre Pressure – The pressure in a tyre is a super important thing that people really do overlook. Make sure your customers understand just 1 or 2psi difference in their tyres can really affect the handling and stability. Aswell as costing money in the long run as it can start to cause abnormal wear!
3 – Tyre Condition – Cracks and perishing are very common in tyre treads so educating your customers on this can really make a huge difference to how they look at their tyres. Not only are they prone to a blow out when tyres get like this, but they’re also suspectable to pressure loss. Don’t forget to advise them on looking for foreign objects within the tread or bulges on the sidewalls or cuts/slits.
4 – Dot Code – Customers love to know fun facts about their vehicles, and teaching them what a DOT code means often brings a little bit of joy! Encouraging them to look at the age can also mean they’ll pick up other issues, too. Remember the DOT code is the manufacturing date so 04/21 means 4th week of 2021. Making sure your customers know what age they should be taking tyres off is also very important, any more than 5/6 years and they’re likely past their best.
Thanks Sophie, and if you’d like to find out any more about Tyre Safety Month, please click here.