Saskatchewan Highways and Transportation Reduced Tire Pressure Initiative

After examination of the research carried out by other agencies, Saskatchewan Highways and Transportation (SHT) embarked on an initiative to adapt low tire pressure technologies to the province's needs and environment. The focus of the initiative was to explore several technical questions from SHT's perspective: (a) Can low tire pressures be used to increase truck weights from secondary to primary without increasing road maintenance costs on thin membrane surface roads? (b) What are the short- and long-term effects of tire heating under high-speed/high-deflection constant reduced pressure (CRP) operations in a Saskatchewan environment? (c) What effects do lower tire pressures have on vehicle stability at highway speeds? To date, significant opportunities have been noted on local hauls (less than 30 min loaded at highway speeds) for CRP operation and long primary highway hauls that begin or end in relatively short secondary highway sections that limit vehicle weight allowed for the whole trip for central tire inflation technology. The background and environment for the initiative and the investigations and demonstrations envisioned and undertaken are briefly outlined.