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ORLANDO , Fla., June 7 /PRNewswire/ -- A new auto safety feature couldprevent the 30,000 accidents and 660 deaths that are blamed on under-inflatedtires every year in the U.S. It can also save drivers a total of
"This feature is ready and available and could be on all new automobiles,"says Clyde Stech , President, MAXAIR ATMI, Inc., which created the safetysystem. "It's a matter of consumers demanding it and auto manufacturersmaking it available."
MAXAIR not only detects when tires on cars, light trucks and SUVs areunder-inflated, but it also automatically fills tires to the right pressureusing air from an onboard compressor. But so far, auto manufacturers seem tobe in the slow lane when it comes to offering this system on cars, SUVs andlight trucks.
"Existing statistics show that MAXAIR will save lives, fuel, andgreenhouse gases," says Stech, "it's as simple as that."
Additionally, similar systems have been in existence in the heavy dutytrucking industry for over a decade. That industry has been experiencing thebenefits of ATMI systems for years and now it is time for the automobileindustry.
Monitoring systems currently on the market could be off by 20-30-percentand they only activate dashboard-warning lights to alert drivers that tireneeds air. Drivers then need to find air to fill the tires. With MAXAIR,it's all done automatically and is accurate within 1-2-percent.
The cost: A lot less than most might think. An automobile partsmanufacturer could supply the device to automakers for about
