With spare tyres being phased out, it seems that Irish motorists are unsure how to cope with its replacement – the tyre repair kit…leading to spike in calls to mobile tyre repair providers

That’s why Continental Tyres has partnered with content creator, Erika Crawte to check on Irish motorists’ level of awareness of how they would cope if they got a puncture on their car.

Surprisingly, nearly one fifth of motorists questioned by Erika in on-street interviews in Dublin were not sure if they had a spare wheel in their car or not.

Increasingly, over the last number of years, car manufacturers have ceased supplying spare wheels in new car models. In most cases, a spare wheel will only come with a new car if the motorist pays the optional extra cost.

Instead, the majority of new cars sold today come with a tyre repair kit which consists of a portable compressor for re-inflating the tyre and a bottle of tyre sealant to repair the puncture.

Unsurprisingly, the majority of motorists questioned in Erika’s interviews were unfamiliar with the tyre repair kit and were unsure how it could be used should they encounter a puncture.

“It was surprising to see the lack of knowledge in relation to the tyre repair kit and how it might work,” said Erika.

“More than half of the motorists I questioned were unsure of what they would do if they were forced to use one”.

“Given that many new cars now come equipped with a tyre repair kit, our advice to motorists is to familiarise themselves with how it works and what you need to do if you get a puncture,” added Tom Dennigan of Continental Tyres Ireland.

“We would also echo Erika’s advice in her on-street interviews video: don’t leave it until you are faced with a puncture at the side of the road to learn how you actually go about using the repair kit”.

Pictured: Irish motorists are struggling to get to grips with the tyre repair kit.