Are You Risking Your Life with Bald Tyres?
The garage man takes a closer look at the tyres on the car and delivers some alarming news to the car owner. “I can’t let you drive off with those tyres,” he says with concern. “They are all dangerous.”
The car owner is startled and admits that he thought the tyres were fine. But the garage man shows him how smooth the tyres are, including the spare, and the car owner is shocked to realize the truth. “I had no idea,” he admits.
This car owner is not alone. A recent survey on tyre care uncovered a disturbing lack of attention among drivers when it comes to the safety of their tyres. The survey found that one in three drivers only check their tyres every six months or longer. Even more alarming, 21% of drivers fail to regularly check the tread depth.
The survey, conducted by Continental Tyres to coincide with Tyre Safety Day and Road Safety Week, reveals that 29% of car owners only check their tyres annually or every six months. Shockingly, 6% of respondents admitted to never checking their tyres at all.
Driving on tyres with tread depth near or at the legal limit of 1.6mm is like playing Russian roulette. To ensure your safety, experts recommend performing a quick tyre check at least once a week, with a more thorough inspection once a month.
According to Tom Dennigan of Continental Tyres Ireland, their regular road safety surveys always show a concerning lack of attention to tyre safety among drivers. However, he described this recent survey as “particularly worrying,” emphasizing that tyres have a critical impact on road safety because they are the vehicle’s only contact with the road surface.
One of the most crucial things to check on your tyres is the tread depth. As the amount of rubber on the tyre decreases from wear and tear, its performance is significantly affected. Experts warn that once the tread depth falls below 3mm, the tyre’s performance and stopping ability are seriously compromised.
The legal tread depth is 1.6mm, and driving with tyres below this limit could result in penalties such as four penalty points and a fine of €80. Mr. Dennigan shared his firsthand experience of driving on badly worn tyres during controlled drive events on test tracks. He described the feeling as being “not fully in control of the car” and highlighted the frightening performance of such tyres during emergency stops.
In fact, a car with worn tyres can take up to 43 meters to come to a complete stop, which is double the stopping distance of new tyres. In emergency situations, this extra distance could be the difference between life and death.
Key Tyre Checking Elements:
- Regularly examine tyres for cuts, bumps, and uneven wear
- Check and maintain the correct air pressure as needed
- Use a one-euro coin to measure the tread depth. Insert the coin into the centre grooves of the tyre to see how much tread remains. If the gold band on the coin is visible, the tread is less than 3mm.
Safety organizations recommend changing tyres when the tread depth reaches 3mm, as the braking ability of the tyre could be seriously compromised as it approaches the legal minimum of 1.6mm.
While car accidents usually have multiple contributing factors, Mr. Dennigan believes that tyres play a significant role in a large number of accidents. For this year’s Road Safety Week, Continental Tyres is urging Irish motorists to make a new resolution to regularly check their tyres and prioritize their safety on the road.
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