CETRO 

Committee of European Tyre Retail Organisations

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ENLARGEMENT

CONSUMER AWARENESS

PARTICIPANTS

• Autonrengasliitto
• BRV
• DRF
• DSL
• Federauto
• Federpneus
• Fenacor
• NTDA
• VACO

National campaigns

• Finland
• Germany
• Sweden
• Denmark
• Belgium
• Italy
• Spain
• Great Britain
• The Netherlands

POSITION STATEMENTS

• Tread depth
• Tyre pressure
• Tyre pressure monitoring systems
• Balance weights
• Wheels
• Tyre repair
• Sound emission
• Tyre aging

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CONTACT

Following an extensive analysis of members’ wishes and needs, in 1995 a start was made on a wide-ranging study of consumer behaviour with regard to tyres and the use of tyres. Indeed, after several years of discussion about road safety, there appeared to be little enthusiasm on the part of the government to provide financial support for road safety campaigns: there were, to put it briefly, too few recorded victims of accidents caused by worn tyres. The analysis made it undeniably clear that there was a need for developments in the direction of greater awareness of the importance of tyres in the interests of progress on the part of the industry as a whole. In order to develop some kind of tyre awareness, three factors were identified that could help achieve that goal: tyre pressure, tyre tread and winter tyres. This has given shape as follows:

Tyre pressure
Careful research demonstrated the relationship between tyre pressure and fuel consumption, or CO₂ emissions. The latter plays an important part in government thinking; and, in any case, tyre pressure costs nothing and a campaign of this nature can lead to a substantial reduction in emissions (25% of the total national traffic target). This 'campaign, known as BandenCheck (Tyre Check) was set up with the help of NOVEM, the national energy agency, who integrated the campaign into its Het Nieuwe Rijden (New Driving Force, or as it is known internationally “Eco-driving”). This activity has now been adopted by a large number of sister organisations in Europe. VACO in its capacity as representative of ten European sister organisations, has taken the initiative to apply to Brussels for a subsidy to support a European campaign. Today, the Committee of European Tyre Retail Organisations, CETRO, represents the voice of over more than 28.000 Points of Sale in Brussels. Today, tyre pressure is back under the road safety issues. However, if governments’ wishes to use tyre pressure in “environmental issues”, it is clear that VACO will insist on all pressure related consequences, including noise emission.

Tyre tread
After a brief analysis of tyre collection companies it was also noted that the percentage of tyres showing failure (in wear and tear) was showing an incontestable rise. These significant data led to the conclusion that drivers were holding onto their tyres for longer, even beyond the legal minimum. A double strategy was developed. On the one hand, a European lobby was set up to arrive at differentiation in the minimum legal tyre tread depth. In fact, OE supplies showed a clear development in the direction of faster categories. And, on the other, in order to address the motorist directly in the awareness-building process, to make efforts to raise the minimum tyre tread depth to 2 to 2.5 mm for the annual roadworthiness tests required by law. This latter was supported by a poster campaign, entitled ‘Gladde band, gebruik je verstand’ (bald tyres, use your head), among the VACO members and the proposed new tyre tread depth has been integrated into the annual test as a piece of advice to motorists from the testing agency. In addition, the Ministry of Transport and Waterways has set up a working party to study the relationships between current legislation and tyres. The working party’s conclusions should lead to adjustments to legislation and regulations. Both subjects, tyre pressure and tyre tread depth, have been submitted to the European Commission in a Position Paper, proposing a minimum tread depth of 2 mm for S and T applications and 3 mm for H and higher applications, including winter tyres (especially in the winter season). A serious attempt to harmonise tread depth for all tyres in the EU is part of the mission statement.

Winter tyres
In de winter of 1996, after intensive discussions in the branch (producers, importers and tyre servicing companies), a start was made on the introduction of the winter tyre in the Netherlands. The reasons for an initiative of this kind are more than obvious. First of all, encouraging awareness of tyres, but in particular increasing the frequency of visits to tyre retail companies (from an average of one in three years to at least twice per year) was intended to lead to an improvement in customer relations and, in consequence, an improvement in tyre awareness. Since then the winter tyre, partly thanks to individual campaigns on the part of producers and the tyre’s excellent performance, has grown to become a much-appreciated product on the Dutch market. The choices made particularly by car lease companies and the government have made a substantial contribution to this success story, partly because of the major reductions in damage when winter tyres are fitted.