In this episode of the Automotive Transmission Podcast, from Auto Repair Focus, Phil Curry discusses the issue of headlight glare, and how a new government report suggests the issue is more down to driver awareness than any issue with modern vehicles. But is this right, or are there other potential issues at play?

Plus, Sophie Lyden, The Tyre Lady and Depot Manager at Westgate Tyres, together with Stuart Lovett, Chair of road safety charity Tyresafe, join us to discuss the shocking state of tyre safety in the UK, and the role garages will play in educating drivers. With a considerable knowledge gap on tyre maintenance, and worrying MOT figures, how can technicians ensure their customers are remaining safe, and staying up-to-date with checks?

Guests

• Sophie Lyden – The Tyre Lady
• Stuart Lovett – Chair, Tyresafe

Further reading

You can stay up to date with the latest automotive aftermarket news at autorepairfocus.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

If you have a story to share, or want to take part in the Auto Transmission Podcast, you can leave voice feedback via our website, or email phil@autorepairfocus.com.

Takeaways:

• In this episode, we discussed the critical importance of headlight glare, especially during darker months.
• The podcast emphasised the ongoing need for drivers to regularly check their tyre conditions and safety.
• We highlighted the alarming statistics regarding driver awareness of legal penalties for unsafe tyres.
• The necessity for garages to educate customers on tyre safety and proper maintenance cannot be overstated.

Foreign.

Welcome to Auto Transmission, the podcast from Auto Repair Focus.

I'm Phil Curry, here to guide you through another episode of Opinion and interview on key topics from the aftermarket industry.

In this episode I'll be talking about headlight glare, another popular subject that has come back to the fore as the clocks have gone back and the nights are getting longer.

In addition, I'll be speaking to leading experts from the tire industry as tyre safety month ends, but the battle to make sure that drivers are checking their tyres regularly and coming into garages to discuss the situation goes on in both of these areas.

Workshops have a critical role to play in educating customers.

But first let's get some of the headline news from the last few days around the automotive aftermarket industry.

New research conducted by the AA and Tyre Safe has shown a concerning picture of tyre safety on UK roads.

The study has revealed a significant gap between drivers perceived knowledge of tyre maintenance and their actual understanding of legal requirements and associated penalties.

61% are unaware that a penalty of 2,500 pounds could apply should a tyre be worn beyond the legal limit or in a poor or dangerous state.

In addition, 45% did not know that they can receive three penalty points for each illegal tyre.

The number of drivers suffering from pothole impacts and breaking down rose by 25% between July and September.

That's according to the latest figures from the RAC's Pothole Index.

The breakdown provider attended 5,035 pothole related breakdowns this summer for jobs such as broken suspension springs, distorted wheels and damaged shock absorbers.

The Euro Rapar Car Service Network has launched the 100K Club, a new initiative celebrating vehicles that have reached 100,000 miles or more.

The program honours both the independent garages that service these high mileage vehicles and and the owners who demonstrate the value of regular quality maintenance.

The initiative introduces a tiered hall of Fame for vehicle owners with recognition levels based on mileage milestones.

Participants receive digital certificates and custom badges corresponding to their achievement level, with rewards increasing at key intervals up to and beyond the 100,000 mile mark.

And finally, a new survey by Auto tech training has exposed a stark readiness gap in the UK's independent automotive aftermarket, with two thirds of garages lacking any vehicle technicians qualified to carry out ADAS calibrations and repair work.

More of half of respondents either outsource this work at a cost of up to 300 pounds per vehicle or do not offer it at all, while just 17.5% plan to invest in ADAS training over the next 12 months.

Significantly, every single garage that does not currently offer ADAS calibration selected not applicable when asked why they do not provide this service.

This strongly suggests that customers are unaware of ADAS calibration, highlighting a serious gap in public understanding of these essential safety systems.

Now, as I record this podcast, it's dark outside and it's a normal working day.

I'm sure you're experiencing that too.

Well, of course you're experiencing that too.

It's night and day, but with the clocks having gone back, the nights are getting longer.

Inevitably, it brings up one topic of conversation amongst many drivers now headlight glare.

Drivers are suddenly noticing that as their driving at night they're dazzled by oncoming lights.

It's led to some people to say they don't feel comfortable driving at night and some people actually putting off driving at night because they're getting dazzled by lights.

Last year the government announced a report would be created on the subject of headlight glare.

That report by the Transport Research Laboratory is now available and it makes for some interesting reading.

Firstly, the findings in the on road data collection findings suggest that some variables that had influence over the perception of glare and on levels of luminance related to the location in which data was collected and the geometry of the road situation.

There's a stuff like it's a very detailed report, it's 129 pages so I won't bore you with any everything.

But what's interesting is that the first consideration the report makes is to improve understanding of road users experience of glare, for example through conducting annual glare surveys from representative samples of UK drivers to permit tracking of the issue over time.

That says to me that there isn't actually a problem with glare, it's just a natural phenomenon that we're finding.

And I agree with that to a point.

In recent conversations with Ring Automotive and with Osram, we've all discussed the issue of headlight glare and there is the issue of drivers looking for glare.

If you're Driving down a road at night and you're looking straight ahead.

The whiter light of LED bulbs which have been homoglyated, are absolutely road legal on the vehicles they're installed in.

I'm talking about LED matrix lights.

I'll come to LED bulbs in a moment.

But they do have a whiter light and they're going to attract your eye.

And it's about drivers sort of training themselves to not look directly at it.

Because once you look directly at it, once you notice it, you look directly at it.

That's headlight glare.

But if you just continue looking straight ahead, you won't notice it.

And many drivers are probably noticing these as cars come over the crest of a hill.

There's been talk about SUVs and their higher lighting position, but again, light has been shone to the road ahead, not directly into the cars in front of.

So again, this report sort of highlights the fact that the issue of headlight glare is not actually an issue.

It's just something that drivers perceive but need to get used to.

Now, from an aftermarket point of view, that doesn't really say much, but there are points to consider.

For example, drivers can cause glare to other road users, especially when driving at night.

And one of those issues is around headlight alignment.

I had a great chat with Terry from Osram and she admitted she was causing headlight glare because her headlights were out of alignment.

Hands up, I have too, my old Skoda.

I replaced the bulb myself, didn't think about it, went and got the MOT done and they pointed out that the headlight alignment was wrong.

And that actually does make me think, I wonder how many drivers today have attempted to change their bulbs themselves, not realize how difficult it is.

And when they put the headlight unit back into the car, the alignment's out and therefore they're causing glare.

And that's something.

Again, I bang on about this all the time, but that's something garages can educate drivers on.

Just, have you had your bulb changed recently?

Do you want us to check your headlight alignment?

Because you could be blinding the people coming towards you.

But another issue is LED bulbs, and that's LED bulbs in cars that aren't built for LEDs.

So those cars don't have the matrix headlights.

Again, I do wonder how many drivers out there see LED matrix headlights and think, I'll have an LED bulb that will be fantastic for me.

I recently did a check on a well known online auction site that begins with E and ends in bay, typed in my registration details and it came up with dozens of LED based headlight bulbs I could fit.

None of them said they were not legal for road use.

So if you think I'll upgrade my headlights, I'll get LED bulbs straight fit, you can look on there without consequence.

But the fact of the matter is headlamp units in the vast majority of cars are not built for the light that is emitted from an LED bulb and that can cause glare as well.

So again, as garages, it's an opportunity to educate customers.

If you want better light, buy more premium bulbs, but make sure that they're road legal as well.

The subject of headlight glare doesn't seem to be wanting to go away.

This report suggests further studies and annual studies.

But the fact of the matter is, drivers may be complaining more, but it's not really a new phenomenon.

It's just as that collective consciousness, we talk about it more, we notice it.

Yes, there are some areas that are being or leading to headlight glare, but ultimately the issue is just one to be aware of.

No change really needed, no major vehicle design changes required.

But again, the aftermarket has a role to play, and that is my opinion.

October was Tire Safety Month, an annual month of awareness organized by road safety charity Tyre Safe, to increase awareness amongst drivers that they need to be checking their tyres, they need to replace worn tires, they need to ensure that these contact patches, the only contact patches between a car and the road, are safe to use.

Now it's November, so why am I still talking about tyres?

Because the battle never stops.

Yes, October is a month of awareness, but millions of drivers are neglecting tyre safety as seen in recent MOT data.

It's an ongoing battle and again, garages have an opportunity to educate drivers not just about the need to check tires, but also the difference between budget better best tires, what their driving styles are like, what they need from their tire.

Do they want a cheap tire that will do them a few thousand miles or do they want something that's going to look last them a bit longer if they're doing motorway journeys?

Better wet grip, better fuel economy, so on and so forth.

I recently caught up with Sophie Lyddon, the tyre lady, to discuss the tire market.

And I also recently spoke to Stuart Lovett, the chair of Tyre Safe, to see the role that garages play when it comes to to ensuring drivers are aware of the crucial aspects of tyre safety.

First up, here's some of my chat with Sophie.

Do you think more drivers today are neglecting their tyres and tyre care than ever before?

100%.

I think from conversations with my dad, obviously he's been doing this for more than 40 years now.

He says that it's just as bad as it ever has been.

But from when I started working within the family business, like I think it's about 11 years now.

Well obviously I've been in the business my whole life but really it's been like 11 years that I've worked specifically within the business.

I think it's got worse and I think it is down to the COVID because the car sat for so long.

So I think that people didn't realize tyres were being neglected, they were being driven on.

The weather was, we had it so hot in Covid and then obviously we had the cold and the way the weather's changed.

Obviously in the UK we don't change our tires like everywhere else.

So we're constantly running around on summer tires because we aren't as educated as other countries.

And therefore more cracks, more perishes which we now see people driving around with now and they're now having to be changed.

And I also think it's the cost of living crisis.

I think it seems to be an excuse for everything.

And it is an excuse, not an excuse.

It is an issue for everyone because we are all struggling so much just to basically get by that when it comes to an expense with tires or anything do with a vehicle, it is kind of the end of the world to some people.

So I think some people know that there's a problem but they just ignore it.

But they don't realize the danger that they're putting themselves and the families in.

Have you had a problem with your boiler?

You're not going to ignore it because you're going to be facing something happening, something could be quite catastrophic and people need to think about the vehicles in the same way because it's exactly the same.

Do you think there's a technology element as well?

I was speaking to someone the other day and we're talking about sort of, you know, reliance on sat navs and things like that.

And obviously with tpms it means that you don't actually have to physically get down and look at your wheel and you know, get the, get the monitor out to check the tire pressure.

So is there a way?

So you know, because you're sitting in the cockpit looking at your tire pressures, you're not actually looking at the tires as well.

So it's almost easy, too easy to miss the, the dangers in terms of, you know, cracks, perishes or really worn down tread.

I think that TPMS sensors The technology that you have around tyres is obviously a great thing, it's a great gadget to have on a vehicle, but I also don't think it's a great thing at the same time because unfortunately people who own vehicles think that that's the thing that's going to tell them when the tire is in danger, basically, or needs help.

And sometimes issues with tires can completely be missed because people are waiting for that light to come on, but say it's a bulge in the side of the tire, say a nail's gone in but hasn't lost any pressure, that TPMS light would not come on.

So I think it's a great piece of technology, but also it's not great at the same time because people really need to be checking their tires at least once a month.

They need to not rely on the technology.

I don't rely on it in my car because I drive Ford Mondeo and anybody who owns a Ford knows that the PMS sensors on force, especially the sensor valves, they are horrendous and they go all the time, they leak.

So I don't rely on mine because I know that my tires are at the right pressure all the time, because I check them monthly, religiously and if I'm going on a long journey I always check my pressures beforehand.

And I think it's just one thing that people need to get used to doing is just checking the pressures.

It literally takes two minutes.

It's one of those things, isn't it?

It's.

It's a nice to have and it gives you an alert on the journey, but absolutely right you should be.

I check my pressures, you know, regularly and check my tires regularly as well.

And it's something, it's a habit I think we should be getting back into, isn't it?

The one thing I don't understand is that we have a driving lesson where you really do get taught the basics of car maintenance.

And then this is not anything against driving instructors.

It's not their responsibility.

What the responsibility is the people who are the caregivers, the guardians, parents.

For these people who are learning to drive, I think they lack the knowledge of it as well.

I know all about a vehicle, I know how to do everything on a car because my mum and dad have taught me.

But they're from a generation where it was taught by their parents.

They all worked on cars together, you didn't have to be interested, but it was like a thing when within that age group, whereas now most vehicles are so super tech, the like expensive, the Finance, the, you know, all that kind of stuff that parents like don't touch my car, please don't do anything with it.

So I think we lack a little bit of generational education at the moment.

And it's one thing that why I try and do as much as I can on social media, try and educate people about the issues because maybe I could be that big sister that kind of teaches them how to check tires.

I mean on that I'll drop a couple of questions forward and come back.

I mean some of the stuff you've posted, I mean is there anything that still shocks you these days?

I don't think there is.

I think that.

Well actually I'd say yeah.

Because when we get tires that are completely bold across the whole tire that always baffles my brain how the driver's never seen it.

It's so common to see tires with cords exposed on the inside or outside edge because people don't understand what it is.

It's so common for people to have run a tire flat because they don't realize they've been driving on a puncture.

So common for undeflated or overflated tire.

It's damage.

But when you see it completely bold and it literally looks like a formula one tire, they do shock me because I almost think like how.

How have you never seen that?

And like the one I posted the other day of the huge bulge in the side of the tire.

Again, I know not everybody gets down and looks at the inside of the tire so it's hard to see that.

And I think sometimes that shocks me that how has that tire actually managed to keep going?

I don't think it's actually the.

The how it's defective that shocks me I think is what that shocks me is how the hell that tires actually managed to survive.

Yeah, I can understand that one.

I've seen some shockers as well stuff you post.

I'm really.

It really baffles me does so going back so to garages, I mean should garages be checking Obviously the reliance has to be on the driver.

You know, they should be educated and informed.

I'll contact in a second.

But in terms of garages, should garages be checking where possible every tire that comes into the no matter what the work or the job load is just having a quick inspection.

If the car's on the ramp or you know, jacked up or something like that, should they really be looking as well just to help that safety aspect.

100 it's not just a safety aspect.

I think for the garages that have that vehicle.

And it's also an upsell.

I know people might not like to hear that word in this trade because everyone thinks we're cowboys for some reason.

But for garage owners, there is part of the market there that they're missing out on.

And if they don't sell tires, that's a good chunk of the trade that they are missing.

Just because everybody always needs them.

It's the only point of contact with the road.

And if you was to call a customer and say your tire is knackered, like it needs a new one, that customer kind of has to have that done.

And any garage that's doing work on a vehicle that's got bold or defective tires, they shouldn't be letting that car drive away.

I know we don't have any legality to hold someone's car, but from a safety aspect, they really should be put on that customer that your vehicle is not safe.

Would you like to put this money that you're trying to do for a service or an MOT towards some tyres and then come back, you know, in two weeks when you can afford to do the rest of it?

Which is one thing we do always say to our customers, if they can't afford the work, we couldn't afford the tires and the work that we were originally supposed to be doing, we always offer the tires first because I'd rather the point of contact with the road was what was keeping them safe than them just needing an oil and filter change or an emo.

Obviously, MOT is completely legality, you need to do that.

But a service, put the money towards your tires and then come back two weeks later, have the service done, you can get it all done at the same time.

So, yeah, I think if any garage that's not checking tires is missing out massively.

And that's not just safety aspect, it's also profit for them too.

And on that I completely agree with the upsell thing.

I think there's.

I do wonder sometimes there's this.

For garages, there's this concern that they're going to look like cowboys because of the perception of the industry, which.

The completely different subject does my head.

In.

In terms of sort of say, look, we've got this, obviously, the.

The budget tire, the cheaper chips, and then sort of you move up through the range and are budget tyres worth it?

I guess if that's all the driver can afford and tire is, you know, the existing tire is absolutely knackered, then it's good to have them on something that's Safe.

But you know, is a budget tire really worth it?

You know what the ups, what are the upsell opportunities for garages to say, look, you know, you spend a 20, 30, 40 pound more per corner and you're going to get something better.

Bucket tires are, they are the basic, they're like the low of the low I guess, but it's still.

So a 205, 55, 16 budget tire, we sell them for 65 pounds, 60 to 65 pound.

And then a mid range tire which is one of the Churchills that we sell, we sell that probably about 75.

So there's like a 10, 15 pound difference most of the time.

That small difference is always an upsell for customers.

However, some when it can be a bit of a jump, I always see they're a bit more hesitant but I always assure the drivers, yes, it is a budget tire.

However, it's safer than the bold tires that you're driving around on.

And if this is just a stopgap for this moment in time where you can save to afford a better tyre next time, it's safer than you driving around on bold tyres.

And also a lot of budget tyres that are on the market at the moment.

If you know your tyre brands, some of the budget brands are actually quite good and some of them last well.

And if you religiously check your tires and have your alignment checked, they can last you quite a decent amount of time.

And then also if you research into tires before you was to go and buy them, there is also budget brands which are owned by premium brands which also make mid range brands.

So you've got that to think about.

If I was going to go for a budget brand and maybe look at one that's made by say Michelin or Hankook or you know, that kind of thing.

And Stuart, how important is it for workshops and technicians to check tyres and discuss tyre safety with their customers when they come into the garage?

Well, obviously from Tyre Safe's point of view, we only campaign.

I think it's important to get right out there.

We don't lobby government for any changes to the law or to changes to regulation.

So this is all about trying to get people to understand the importance of safe legal road worthy tyres.

And so of course the garages have an absolutely crucial role and this is where the technicians can come in because it's the single point of engagement.

Tire Safe can't do this.

We do lots of campaigns.

This is Tyre Safety Month, so we've been campaigning for 20 years to bring about this behavioral change that People will take tire safety seriously because of the potential consequences of not doing so.

So this is the opportunity for garages to work with their customers and also to then build that customer base by providing that sound, reliable service.

And as we all know, if we all get good service, we tend to go back to the same places time and time again.

So, you know, talk about, you know, how to, how to engage with the customer to explain why this is so important, but also ask them, what kind of driving do you do?

So obviously the range of tires that are now available, performance depends on the type of tire that you want.

So it's not just, and we hear anecdotally all the time and some surveys suggesting that people come in and say, what's the cheapest tyres for this car?

Well, you know, if you're going to be doing long distances on high speed roads, motorways and dual carriageways, you're putting your children in your car, you're going to load your car up because you're going on holiday, then perhaps the cheapest tyres for you is not the best tyre.

So this is something we think that the technicians have an absolutely critical role in getting that message across to the customers and combat that complacency.

That most people have to think that this is a distress purchase, something I have to do, rather than something that you should plan for.

Because of course, tyres were, and I think that's something that the garages can be explained to people, is that as the tyres were, the performance of the tyre will change.

So you cannot expect the same stopping distances, particularly in the wet, from a brand new tyre to a tyre that's now down to the absolute bow legal minimum of 1.6.

So again, what the garages can do is by offering that professional tire check and engaging with the customers, we firmly believe here at Tyre Safe that you will then build a customer base for life.

And once you do that, people then bring the friends and the neighbors and the kids in once.

This is a superb way of helping to work with your local community and serve your local community and help keep them safe.

And I mean, when it comes to, you mentioned about the high speed, the roads, everything like that.

And what else can garages tell their customers?

Ensure that they check their tyres to make sure they're safe.

So the existing tyres in the car might be, you might have 4 mil of tread left, but you're getting close to that point, that 3 mil tipping point.

So what can Gary say?

To say, make sure you check these and check them across the width as well, not just The a quick glance or as you said, a tire kick.

Yeah, I think, you know what they can talk to the customer is that.

Talk to the customer.

I think very often the customer will be sat there drinking a cup of coffee in the waiting room or maybe reading one of the magazines that's probably out of date for startup.

You could actually put.

So the first thing we suggest is that whichever garage is join us, join tiresafe, join our campaign.

It's very easy to do so for an independent garage, it's only £150 a year and because we are a registered road safety charity that is corporately tax deductible.

So join that.

Therefore you will then have access to all our materials.

So you can put our campaign materials, you can refresh that, change that round.

But also we have a huge amount of resources which would then be free to all our members and we have posters that you can download to say you're a tiresave supporter.

So that's the first thing is use some of our material in your waiting room.

So somebody's not, not reading a three year old Lancashire Life magazine, is they?

Maybe they could be reading something that was actually pertinent to the purchase that they're about to go through.

But I think the other thing is, is then talk to them, don't leave them in the web trim.

If you find something, explain to them what if you found, if you, if you've seen, you know, the tread, which of course is the legal, is the legal bit, but also if you.

And explain to them that you know, whilst the tread might be say 2 mil now, so it's still legal but you know, talk about the thickness of a credit card down to, down to the legal minute.

Talk about the change in performance and explain to them why this purchase is important.

Now if it's down to sort of 3 mil then why you need to be thinking about and planning for changing that tire very, very soon because of, because of the wear and everything else.

But talk about the braking distances and again if your technicians don't have that knowledge, then we have posters, we have, we have a range of materials that you could put up and you can point to it and explain to them.

Look at the stopping distances as your tires start to wear down.

If you're putting your kids in your car then, or you're putting your friends and your relatives in the car, you say you're going higher speeds.

Look at, look at the performance and so you can actually give them an informed discussion rather than just leave them sat in the wager.

Room and come out and say, well, there's the bill.

Because most people, most people wouldn't find that probably the most engaging customer service.

And of course, when it comes to fines, I mean, it's not just about the road safety implications.

The driver is liable as well, aren't they?

If there's a problem with a tyre, the fines are quite big, aren't they?

You know, our surveys have identified that people don't even realise the consequences of driving with illegal or defective tyres.

So most people, certainly a great majority of people, do not seem to realize that it's, it's a maximum of two and a half thousand pounds and three points per tyre.

When we say per tire.

Oh, I thought it was per vehicle.

No, it's per tyre.

And so if you're already, you know, if you've already had been unfortunate enough to have one or two speeding offenses or you've been caught with a mobile phone and you've already got six points, a couple of illegal tyres could be enough to end up with a driving ban.

And we don't want to start going into all the potential consequences that and I think the other thing again, join us, use our material, but tell people now's the time to act on these tyres that you, you brought in today to ask for some advice, act, talk about air condition and tread.

If you find any damage or uneven were, explain to them that what you found and talk to them.

But you know, then there's other things that you can do in terms of offering them.

You know, things like time to pay, you know, pay by installment so it doesn't have to be a sudden.

You know, you need, actually need two tires or three tires rather than the one that you thought because you've expired.

And to say there are things that, that the garage, the company can do to help to maybe take some of the pain out of suddenly having a lot bigger distressed purchase than they planned for.

So there's lots of things that they could do to understand why tyres are so crucial.

And again, you know, there are things you could build into that conversation.

If you are involved in a, in a crash, obviously not every crash leads to a casualty, but if you are involved in a crash, then you know the cost of losing your no claims, the cost of excess, the cost of repair.

So it might be a shock to pay £150 for a tyre, but what's the excess that you would lose?

How much would your insurance premium go up if your tyres cannot stop you in time?

So it might be a purchase here, but it could be something that could save you money in the long term.

So there's lots of conversations that with a little bit of training, a little bit of thought, you can build all this in as part of the company's CPD for their technicians.

Talk to them about why it's important to engage that customer and explain to them that they have choices and help them to make the right choices.

So there you have it.

Garages have a crucial role to play in tyre safety.

Drivers just are not thinking about their cars in the same way.

They're using them as tools to get from A to B.

There's no pride, no passion in keeping your car on the road for a long period anymore.

So if drivers aren't thinking about it, garages have to and it offers opportunities.

That conversation can start.

Customer relations it's not just about the upsell.

It's not just about the.

The safety is about that customer relationship and building that leads to everything else.

And as I mentioned, the perception of the industry really, really bugs me.

But ultimately you're not selling tires, you're selling safety.

So that's the lead point to make.

And it's whether you're seeing as a ripoff merch or not.

If a customer thinks you're trying to be too pushy, you're trying to upsell them unnecessarily, they're probably not worth dealing with in the first place.

Those customers that listen and that respect opinion and want to make a decision based around that, they're the customers.

They're going to keep coming back.

So when it comes to tyre safety, garages have to take the lead.

But ultimately we can't compromise on tyre safety.

My thanks in this episode go to Sophie Lyddon and Stuart Lovett for joining me and talking about tyre safety.

And also thanks to everyone listening.

You can stay up to date with the latest information on the UK aftermarket@autorepairfocus.com and while there, don't forget to sign up to the free weekly Insight newsletter, bringing everything you need to know direct to your email inbox.

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Thank you very much for listening.

We'll see you in the next episode.