Tuesday, December 15, 2009

TRANSPORT OPERATORS MUST USE GOOD TYRES (PAGE 30, DEC 15)

The Technical Manager of CFAO Motors, Mr Samuel L. Baiden, has urged transport owners, companies and executives of various transport unions to impress on their drivers to select tyres that enhance the safety of their vehicles to reduce the spate of accidents and loss of lives in the country.
He said it was equally important for stakeholders in the transport industry to appreciate the need of identifying the speed limit and load range of tyres selected for their vehicles and strictly comply with them to ensure the safety of road users .
He explained that the inability of vehicle owners to differentiate between tyres and their usages on the road in the country have contributed immensely to the numerous accidents that claim precious lives and destroy property on a daily basis.
“Tyres are always manufactured with different patterns and therefore, have different usages on the road network, but transport owners and companies misapply them, thus affecting their lifespan, causing preventable accidents to destroy lives and property in the country” he stressed.
Mr Baiden made the appeal during a sensitisation workshop on tyre selection and maintenance, organised by the CFAO in Kumasi. About 50 representatives from various transport unions, mining companies , timber firms and industries in the Kumasi Metropolis and its environs attended the seminar .
Mr Baiden showed a documentary on the process of manufacturing tyres and the various materials used in manufacturing them to the participants, prompting series of questions on the types of tyres that suit tropical Africa, their traction , lifespan and nature of road they should be selected for.
Mr Baiden pointed out that the CFAO, which is the sole distributor of Bridgestone tyres, would continue to sensitise drivers on the right selection of tyres and maintenance to enhance safety on the road.
After educating the participants on the functions of tyres, their sizes and temperatures required to enhance safety on the road, as well as their load capacity and how they should be selected for vehicles, Mr Baiden prompted the participants to always loo kout for guidelines anytime they were selecting tyres for their vehicles.
He advised that it was important for drivers to observe the speed limits of their tyres, stressing that “speeding beyond the limits of tyres increases their temperatures, causing them to burst when least expected to cause accidents”.
He said, since tyres have their load capacity, it was important for drivers to load vehicles to conform within their limit to reduce risks on the highways.
He also took the participants through driving habits, vehicle and tyre maintenance, changing rim sizes of their vehicles, as well as alignments and thread depth of tyres .
He advised them to be guided by the best practices of tyre selection and maintenance to ensure the safety of their vehicles on the highways to make travelling more comfortable and enjoyable for themselves and other road users.
He pointed out that CFAO was ready to offer quality services to stakeholders in the transport industry and therefore, “urge drivers to implement simple safety measures before they drive”.
He assured that the company would continue to collaborate with drivers and all stakeholders in the transport industry by “ distributing safety booklets and gauges that can measure tyre pressures and thread depth as part of our contributions to prevent accidents on our roads”.

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