RIYADH: Bridgestone Tires in cooperation with the Gulf Cooperation Council’s Stan-dardization Organization (GSO) recently held a training course to raise awareness among drivers about tire safety specifications.
The course was held at the headquarters of Talyi Company Ltd., Bridgestone’s Saudi agent. Officials from GSO, the Ministry of Transport and Saudi Customs were in attendance.
The aim of the course was to get private sector companies involved in raising public awareness in conjunction with government organizations. A key focus of the course was to train drivers, retailers and dealers in ensuring tires are according to Gulf and international standards.
Used tires — in spite of efforts by the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization and the traffic authorities — continue to be sold in the Kingdom. An increasing number of car crashes in the Kingdom in the past 10 years have been caused by tire blowouts.
As a result, it has become clear that consumers lack the awareness to make sure safety of tires, especially used ones.
The workshop gave an overview of the manufacturing process of tires and how to choose the right tire. It also introduced attendees to new forms of technology employed to ensure safety.
The program included a field trip to factories and workshops run by Al-Amjad Center for Tires Checking to show the participants how tires are manufactured, checked for safety and changed.
Makoto Ono, director of Bridgestone in Saudi Arabia, said it was very important to ensure tires are safe to use. “We need to reinforce the concept that tires are important and should be compatible with the standards of each country,” said Ono.
“The safety of drivers and passengers are the main concerns, especially as we know the market is full of tires that are either incompatible to the standards or too old to be used.”
He added that consumers should be aware of the quality more than anything else. “Poor quality tires, especially used ones, can be a real threat to lives as they are the cause of a huge number of accidents,” he said.
“Bridgestone is willing to bear the responsibility of increasing awareness of consumers in this regard. ... It is important to have tires compatible to each country’s standards, as the climate and the nature of the land are key deciding factors.”
A GSO official said it is important to know of standards and whether tires are compatible and suitable. “Consumer knowledge is crucial. One should know what to choose for his car and when to change it ... the expiration dates should be very well understood,” the official added.
“Consumers can access all these information at the GSO website, www.gso.org.sa. The GSO is also printing brochures and booklets to educate consumers on tire safety,” he added.
