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Fifth of female drivers risking lives on the road through missed tyre checks

30th July 2013 Print

Women drivers are taking unnecessary risks on the road because they lack confidence in simple car maintenance, research from Hankook Tyre UK Ltd has found.

A startling 22 per cent of female drivers have never checked their tyre pressure and a further 43 per cent haven’t in more than a month - the recommended maximum amount of time between checks. Additionally, 15 per cent of women never check the condition of their tyres, compared with just 5 per cent of men, and just 21 per cent do so before a long journey.

With illegal, defective or under inflated tyres contributing to around 700 accidents every year, drivers are putting themselves and other road users in serious danger by not carrying out simple checks.

Tony Lee, managing director, Hankook Tyre UK Ltd commented: “The average UK car is now over 7 years old, so regular maintenance checks are crucial to ensure that a vehicle is roadworthy. Tyres should be inspected at least every month for wear and tear, the air pressure should be checked and the tread depth measured.

“Most petrol stations offer access to an air pump that is easy to use and drivers can find the recommended tyre pressure for their vehicle in its handbook. It’s so simple to check and only takes a couple of minutes. There’s really no excuse!”

In spite of this, 44 per cent of female drivers don’t feel confident checking their tyre pressure, compared with just 19 per cent of males. Other basic maintenance tasks were also affected, with only 22 per cent of women feeling able to correctly change a headlight or braking light bulb.

The biggest gender divide lay in changing a wheel. Just 16 per cent of women felt that they could carry out the task, while over 60 per cent of men were perfectly comfortable. Surprisingly, however, women were more likely to be happy filling up with petrol, as a worrying 21 per cent of men didn’t feel confident at the pump.

Tony added: “Whether male or female, it’s important that drivers understand how to carry out simple maintenance tasks. Often people expect these jobs to be complicated but after being shown how to do something, such as checking the oil level, they can easily do it for themselves.”

Confidence seems to be the overriding issue, with almost 60 per cent of women saying they had a poor or very poor understanding of car mechanics. Because of this, many women are asking male relatives to help out when it comes to car maintenance. 38 per cent reported that their husband or partner took their car to the garage when it needed mechanical work, while a further 10 per cent asked a male relative or friend.

This is something that is seen a lot in garages, according to Grace Fowkes, manager of Fowkes Auto: “Garages have changed a lot over the years and are much less intimidating than they used to be. Even so, many women still don’t feel comfortable going to a garage on their own. They often feel that they don’t know the first thing about cars and couldn’t talk to the mechanics about a problem.

“We’ve tried to make women feel more welcome at our garage but more needs to be done elsewhere. Women only events are a great way to get ladies along to find out about cars and to reassure them that they can trust a garage not to exploit their lack of knowledge.”

Hankook found that 62 per cent of women had a limited or no knowledge of car mechanics and had to trust the mechanic on many decisions.

Tony Lee of Hankook concludes: “Just understanding the basics of car maintenance can make you feel more confident when talking to mechanics. Anyone who isn’t sure how to do things like check the oil level or fill up the screenwash should check their car’s manual. Most key maintenance tasks will be explained in there.

“With 41 per cent of people regularly travelling with children in the car, and around two thirds with their partner or spouse, it’s crucial that they make safety a priority. Simple maintenance can prevent accidents and reduce the chances of an expensive bill from the garage.”

The car maintenance tasks women feel most fazed by:

Changing a wheel (84%)
Changing headlight/braking light bulbs (79%)
Checking engine coolant level (66%)
Checking tyre pressure (44%)
Checking oil level (35%)
Re-filling screenwash (28%)
Filling up with petrol (17%)

The car maintenance tasks men feel most fazed by:

Changing headlight/braking light bulbs (45%)
Changing a wheel (39%)
Checking engine coolant level (37%)
Filling up with petrol (21%)
Checking oil level (19%)
Checking tyre pressure (19%)
Re-filling screenwash (18%)