Tyre Safety
The majority of tyre-related accidents involve cars with badly maintained tyres. By following the guides below, you might be surprised how simple it is to ensure your own tyres are safe to drive on.
According to Tyresafe, over 70% of cars tested in a big tyre safety campaign had 2mm of tread or below. That’s nearly 24 million tyres on the roads with borderline or illegal tyres, so save yourself a £2,500 fine or even your life by checking your tyres.
Tread Depth
Testing your tread depth is one of the easiest ways to check if your tyres are legal, and all you need is a 20p coin.
It’s as simple as placing the coin into the main grooves of your tyre. If you can see the outer rim of the coin, then your tyres are likely to be illegal, therefore unsafe to drive on. You should get these checked or replaced by a tyre professional as soon as possible.
Remember to check at least three spots on each tyre when carrying out this test. Also, make sure to check your tyre tread at least once a month to ensure they are always above the legal limit.
Tyre Pressure
The air pressure within your tyres is the most important factor in determining how well they perform.
Under-inflated tyres can negatively impact your tyres’ speed and load carrying capability, wear rate and fuel consumption.
It is recommended that you check your tyre pressure once a month or before a long journey. Fortunately, most new cars are now fitted with a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), which monitors the pressure of your tyres and alerts you to any change in pressure.
Part Worn Tyres
While it is not an offence to sell part worn tyres, there is a specific set of criteria that they have to meet. Selling part worn tyres that don’t meet the legal requirements is a criminal offence and also puts drivers at risk.