Replacing the currently-used tyres in the Netherlands by A-rated tyres would have a large impact on energy consumption, safety and vehicle noise. The use of A-rated tyres in the Netherlands would save nearly 506 million litres of fuel and would reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 1.3 Mton annually. Yearly, 43 less people would be killed in traffic accidents, and high-quality tyres would result in 260 less serious injuries and 364 less slight injuries. And due to the favourable noise characteristics of A-rated tyres, each year 216000 less people would be highlyannoyed by road traffic and the number a highly sleep-disturbed people would be reduced by 204000. Assuming the characteristics of A-rated tyres could be combined into one ‘Triple-A’ tyre would lead to the sum of all benefits described above. From a societal perspective, the associated annual cost savings would then amount to nearly one billion Euros. (Author/publisher)
Abstract