For the benefit of the academy’s learners, mainly transition year students, Uniroyal has provided a supply of tyre tread depth gauges that are included in the learner pack that each student takes away from their driving course.
Included with the tread depth gauge is a tyre safety leaflet, written with the teenage learners in mind, with a minimum of jargon and use of humour to appeal to a young audience. The leaflet has a very serious message in highlighting a major shortcoming among Irish drivers – the need to take proper care of their tyres. According to Uniroyal research, only one in seven young drivers knows the legal tread depth limit.
“It’s not just the teenagers who stand to benefit from this initiative with Rosemary’s Driving Academy,” explains Paddy Murphy of Uniroyal Tyres Ireland. “We know these kids will soon be driving their parents’ cars. Unfortunately, it’s those same parents who are often in most need of instruction in terms of tyre care. We’re looking to the pupils to exert a positive influence.”
Celebrated rally driver Rosemary Smith set up the driving academy when she saw similar programmes in the US. Its specially devised training programme has given over 11,000 transition year teenagers their first taste of safe driving in a thoroughly safe environment.
"Tyre care is a really important part of road safety," she says. "And, as we tell our students, it is not rocket science. Motorists just need to carry out regular inspections of their tyres, looking out for any cuts or bulges. Your life and those of your family and other road users could depend on it”.
Uniroyal has been making Rain Tyres for 40 years. The range is ideally suited for Ireland’s wet climate as it uses a specially designed tread pattern to give added performance specifically on wet roads.
