Strathclyde Tyres Blog

RAC patrols have witnessed a near 20% surge in call outs from motorists stranded in their cars because they’ve run out of fuel over the past twelve months, says the motoring group. In February 2012, 4,780 motorists called an RAC patrol because they’d run out of fuel, compared to just 3,900 one year earlier.

The record high price of petrol and diesel is likely to be a leading cause of the surge of drivers running dry. Diesel is now running at over 146p/litre and petrol at over 139p/litre, meaning a driver of an average car with a 55 litre tank faces a bill of £80 to fill up on diesel - £17 more than in February 2010.

An EU standardised tyre label is due to be introduced in November this year, according to Continental Tyres. The aim is to promote low emissions and better road safety, with standardised information focusing on three key criteria: fuel efficiency, wet grip and external rolling noise.

The system will work by giving consumers essential information to help them when choosing new tyres. This will take the form of a label, which will have values from A-G, excluding D to avoid an average performing tyre.