People Do Not Identify Tire Aging as a Safety Hazard

Short Description
In a 1997 report from Mercedes. Benz Research and Technology Division, it says, “Tyres … little or none of the owner’s manual for their primary …

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Content
People Do Not Identify Tire Aging as a Safety Hazard
Jennifer A. Cowley, Soyun Kim & Michael S. Wogalter
Department of Psychology
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7650 USA
Abstract
Tires are among the most critical components of motor vehicles, requiring proper maintenance to
minimize the risks of accidents associated with failure. Tire failures at high speeds in vehicles
such as SUVs have resulted in vehicle rollovers, serious injuries and occupant death. Tire
degradation, as a result of age-related factors, can be contributor to tire failure for which many
people may have little awareness. A total of 225 participants (101 non-student adults and 124
college students) were asked to list all contributors that they believed could cause tire problems.
Although most respondents mentioned one or more causes of tire failure, only 4.0% of the
participants mentioned tire aging as a cause. These results suggest that a substantial proportion
of the population is not aware of tire aging as a potential hazard. Implications for a multimethod
labeling and warning system are described
INTRODUCTION
Although it is well known that many people are
killed in vehicular crashes, it is less well known that a
substantial number…