Convictions For Worn Tyres Worryingly High
Do you know how much tyre tread it is recommended to have on your car tyres for safety? Do you know what the legal minimum limit is? And more importantly, do you change your tyres before you reach that limit (or at least as soon as you realise they are dangerously worn)? It is one thing to choose to buy cheap tyres (or even better, shopping around for the best deal on good quality tyres!), but it seems many drivers are ignoring their tread wear and continuing to drive on illegal tyres.
Not only do defective tyres make up over 60% of the ‘vehicle defects’ category of convictions with 9,639 people convicted of driving with defective tyres last year, but sadly there were over 1,200 casualties following accidents that were specifically caused by illegal, defective or under-inflated tyres. The most concerning aspect of this is that so many drivers are aware of the legal minimum, and also aware that they are driving on tyres that don’t meet that minimum.
In case you aren’t aware, the legal minimum tread depth is 1.6mm across the central three quarters of all four tyres, around the entire circumference. The recommendations are that you change your car tyres when they have 3mm left as below that the performance and safety of your tyres drops significantly. Driving on tyres that have less than 1.6mm tread leaves you open to fines of up to £2,500 and three penalty points on your driving licence, for each illegal tyre. If your tyre treads are looking a bit worn, our mobile tyre fitting service can help you!