Bridgestone ask for tougher laws on defective tyres

Defective and worn tyres are one of the largest contributors to accidents on the road in the UK, this is becoming a more well-known fact as awareness of tyre safety is continuing to rise. Bridgestone has called on the UK Government to introduce mandatory fines on motorists who drive with defective or worn tyres. The Irish minister for transport, tourism and sport, Paschal Donohoe has already announced the new fixed charge notice offence for motorists driving on illegal tyres, effective from mid-April and Bridgestone believe the UK should follow Ireland's lead.

While there are already penalties in place in the UK for driving on illegal tyres, including three points and a maximum fine of £2,500 per tyre, as per CU30 law, it is only seen as a summary offence and not mandatory, with all charges needing legal prosecution and very few being enforced. Bridgestone believe that a fixed fine will promote greater awareness amongst motorists of the hazards of driving with tyres that are not in roadworthy condition and therefore dangerous to the driver, their passengers and other motorists on the road.

TyreSafe is a national non-profit organisation promoting the importance of safe and legal tyres, the organisation carried out a survey in partnership with Highways England of the tread depth of tyres at the point of replacement, from February to May 2015. The results of this showed that more than ¼ of all drivers had an illegal tyre on their vehicle, suggesting that potentially 10 million tyres on the roads of England, Scotland and Wales were dangerous and illegal last year.

Managing director of Bridgestone, Robin Shaw, believes that the measure would not only improve road safety and awareness, but could also generate funds to be reinvested into general road safety. He said, "If a fixed fine, as is the case in Ireland, results in motorists checking their tyres and replacing as necessary, then it can only be a good thing. The average stopping distance of a new tyre with 8mm tread depth is around 26 metres compared to around 38 metres on a worn tyre at 1.6mm tread depth. So it can literally be a matter of life and death."

Here at Hometyre we cannot stress the importance of ensuring your tyres are safe and legal, to see our guide on how to check your tyres, just click here. If you need any advice or would like to book your location technician to come out for a tyre inspection, call our team on 0333 444 5454.

Written by Louise Cowlishaw - Hometyre HQ