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New Hankook survey says UK drivers at risk due to tyre safety

1 in 10 UK cars have never checked their tyre pressure and at least half of drivers surveyed are unaware of the legal limits for tyre tread on their vehicle has been revealed by a new study by Hankook Tyres, furthermore despite it being recommended to check your tyre pressure every week, 1 in 5 drivers in the UK are only checking their tyre pressure every 6 months.

The survey delved into driver;s awareness surrounding tyre safety with the poll and found 70% of drivers not changing the tyres on their vehicle until there is a problem or they are advised to, 40% said that tyres are most important to maintain on a car.

With winter now upon us, the research looked into driving in wintry conditions with a massive three quarters of drivers not confident driving in wintry conditions and less than 10% of drivers, which means they could be putting themselves and other road users at risk by under-estimating the distance.

"The number of reported casualties resulting from tyre-related incidents over the last 5 years is 5.677 of with 989 people were killed or seriously injured. Where casualties arise from an accident caused by a vehicle defect, tyres are the single largest contributory factor over the last five reported years, accounting for 36% of the total. 2.2 million cars annually fail their MOT due to tyre-related defects and with the weather getting colder and wintry conditions soon to arrive, it's more important than ever for drivers to have better awareness when it comes to their vehicles and tyres." Stephen Marsh, retail development manager at Hankook commented.

There are some simple checks you can do to your own tyres to make sure they are safe.

Within the grooves of the tread are tread depth indicators (little square rectangles) which, to ensure you remain legal, act as a guide by indication when the tread on the tyre reaches 2mm by sitting flush with the top of your tread at that critical point. However this should not be your only point of reference when completing your inspection, it is not uncommon for the tyre to have sufficient tread depth across the centre but for the outer or inner 'shoulder' of the tyre to be completely worn through, this situation can and will seriously compromise your tyres' ability to displace water and can lead to loss of control in wet conditions. Check the tread over the complete width of the tyre.

The 20p piece check is one that is commonly recommended as a good guide. To do this simply insert the edge of a 20p coin into the tread grooves and use the border as a guide of tread depth. The border of the coin that contains the inscription is 3mm, if any part of the border can be seen above the groove then your tyre is over 78% worn and it's performance is significantly reduced and replacement should be considered.

In addition complete a visual check of the general condition of the rubber both across the tread and the sidewall. Check for cracks, tears, rips, bulges and objects embedded in the tyre.

If in doubt give Hometyre a call as we can arrange a suitable time to complete a comprehensive tyre inspection for you

 


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