As the summer driving season gets underway, many motorists will find themselves staring at a dashboard warning lamp they don’t recognize. By using this opportunity, you can educate your customers on tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS), the icon they'll see on their instrument panel and how to react properly to the light.
The icon, which looks like the cross-section of a tire with an exclamation mark inside, illuminates when the tire pressure in one or more of the vehicle’s tires is 25 percent below the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended air pressure. Many drivers have a "What’s that?”-induced scenario that you can help calm.
Beginning with the 2008 model year, TPMS became standard on all cars sold in the United States. Now, more than 50 million TPMS-equipped vehicles are on the road, and 15 million more are coming onto the roadways every year.
To educate motorists about TPMS and the importance of maintaining proper tire pressure, Schrader®, a manufacturer of TPMS, has created TPMSMadeSimple.com, a comprehensive site that helps drivers understand the purpose and benefits of TPMS, as well as what steps to take when the TPMS alert illuminates. In addition to safety aspects, the site also spells out the many economic and environmental benefits of proper tire pressure. It's just one more tool you can use to help your customers understand their vehicles more.
“Drivers can sometimes take it for granted that their vehicle’s four tires are what keep them connected to the road,” says Carl Wacker, vice president of Global OE Sales and Marketing for Schrader. “Just like seatbelts and airbags, TPMS helps protect drivers when their safety is most at risk.”
Key features of TPMSMadeSimple.com include:
• “Experts Talk,” which features commentary and advice from automobile safety experts, environmental journalists and others.
• A “Fuel Savings Calculator,” which shows drivers how much properly inflated tires can save them at the gas pump.
• “Drivers Forum,” in which drivers can submit questions and read real-life TPMS testimonials.
• The TREAD Act, where drivers can learn more about the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation Act, the law that, following a nationwide tire recall in 2000, mandated TPMS for all new cars in the United States.
“The U.S. was the first country to mandate TPMS, but other countries are now adopting similar legislation,” Wacker says. “We want to help heighten global awareness of this critical safety topic and help drivers understand how important it is to vehicle safety.”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that, when all passenger vehicles are equipped with TPMS, it will reduce the number of annual motor vehicle crash fatalities by about 120 and the annual number of injuries due to motor vehicle crashes by about 8,500.
