One in five women have no idea about the correct tyre pressure for their car. According to a survey on behalf of TyreSafe, 21% of females are clueless about this element of motoring, and prefer to get someone else to check their tyres for them. The tyre pressure and tyre safety survey was taken to coincide with Tyre Safety Month, which runs during October.

Tyre Safety Month focuses on the vital part tyres play in road safety and highlights the importance of having correctly inflated tyres - not just in terms of road safety but also their role in conserving fuel.

Under-inflated tyres, combined with bad driving practice, cost UK drivers more than £2 billion in extra fuel each year.

They are also responsible for the release of 5.5 million tons of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere every year.

The campaign, the first national initiative to be organised by the tyre industry and supported by the Federation of Petroleum Suppliers (FPS), aims to encourage motorists to take advantage of free tyre pressure and safety checks available at participating sites during October.

It is also being backed by motoring journalist and presenter of Channel 5’s Fifth Gear show, Vicki Butler-Henderson.

She said: “Drivers are clearly not aware of the dangers of driving a car with severely under-inflated tyres.

“I have recently been testing a car with tyres at low pressures and badly worn and the combination is potentially deadly.”

More information can be found at www.tyresafe.org