Did you know you should check the tread depth of your tyres at least once a month?¹

Good tyre tread depth keeps you safer in wet weather and reduces your risk of aquaplaning.² Driving on tyres with an illegal tread depth risks a fine up to £2,500 as well as three penalty points for each tyre.³

What is aquaplaning?

  • Aquaplaning occurs when the water between the tyres and the road surface cannot be removed quickly enough.
  • This layer of water builds up in front of the tyres until the pressure of the water exceeds the pressure of the tyre on the road.
  • This results in the tyres losing contact with the road surface, and prevents the vehicle from responding to steering, braking or accelerating.⁴

Confused? Take a look at this video which demonstrates aquaplaning:

How do I check my tyre’s tread depth?

To check if your tyres have enough tread depth, you can take the ‘20p test’. All you need to do is take a 20p coin and place it in the main grooves of your tyre. If you can see the outer band of the 20p coin when it’s placed in the tyre, then the tyres may be dangerous and should be inspected by a tyre professional.⁵

Tyre safety month

How do I check my car’s tyre pressures?

You can find the correct tyre pressures of your car in the vehicle handbook, or on a sticker inside the fuel filler flap or driver’s door.

Fact: Each year in the UK, more than 1,200 road casualties are caused by illegal, defective or under-inflated tyres.⁶

Eight million driving on ‘dangerous tyres’

A new campaign has been launched on the back of figures suggesting that more than one in five UK motorists are driving on ‘dangerous tyres’.

What is Tyre Safety Month?

TyreSafe is one of the UK’s leading tyre safety organisations, aiming to raise awareness about the dangers of worn or illegal tyres. In October 2014 they will be running a month-long campaign to get people checking the tyres on their vehicle.

Get involved on Social Media:⁷

  • Like Tyre Safe on Facebook or follow them on Twitter; help spread tyre safety awareness with your friends.
  • Take TyreSafe’s Facebook pledge to check the tread depth of your own tyres.
  • Tweet a picture of yourself taking the 20p test along with the hashtag #tyreselfie.

Find out more:

Visit TyreSafe’s website for more details: http://www.tyresafe.org/campaigns/tyre-safety-month-2014


Sources:

[1] [2] [6] [7] http://www.tyresafe.org/images/tsm_2014/TyreSafe_Campaign_Toolkit_A5.pdf
[3] http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/legal-advice/tyres.html
[4] http://www.michelin.co.uk/tyres/learn-share/care-guide/Aquaplaning
[5] http://tyresafe.org/campaigns/tyre-safety-month-2014/2014-campaign/introduction .