GURGAON, India (Jan. 25, 2010)—Motorists in India are just as bad as their U.S. counterparts when it comes to properly inflating their tires, according to a new study.
Apollo Tire Ltd., India's largest tire maker, said a six-month study of 9,000 passenger vehicles showed only 22 percent of the tires were inflated at the original-equipment recommended level. In comparison, a Rubber Manufacturers Association study of 5,478 vehicles a year ago revealed only half the drivers had inflated their tires properly.
Apollo said between 250 and 315 people die every day in road accidents across India, and posed the question of how many died because of improperly inflated tires. The company's data show 34 percent of the passenger vehicles' tires were underinflated, and 44 percent overinflated.