The Importance of Checking Your Tyres
Checking your tyres - something that may often slip your mind, or something that you will do 'next week', this is something that should not be pushed to the back of your mind. TyreSafe have announced that regular tyre checks will reduce casualties and save millions of lives, at Hometyre we also urge motorists to regularly check their tyres are inflated to the vehicle manufacturers recommended pressures and that they have sufficient tread depth. It is important to check your tyres for any uneven wear and also for any cracks that may appear in the sidewall of your tyres.
Illegal or damaged tyres are the single largest contributing factor of all accidents which are caused by vehicle defects. According to the DVSA over recent years, 2.2 million cars annually fail their MoT due to tyre-related issues and on top of that, over the past three years the number of convictions for tyre-related offences has exceeded 15,000*.
A few easy tyre checks are recommended, taking less than a couple of minutes to complete, these should be carried out at least once a month and before a long journey. Simply check tread depth, air pressure and general condition of your tyres. The legal tread depth is 1.6mm in the central ¾ of the tyre in a continuous band around the entire circumference. The correct air pressure for your tyres can be found in the owner's manual, there will be two pressures stated, one for when fully loaded and another for when partly loaded.
To view our guide on how to check your tyres, click here.
If you check your tyres and have any worries regarding whether your tyres meet these standards, please contact us straight away at Hometyre so we can be sure you are driving both safely and legally on the road.
*Survey by the Ministry of Justice 2012 to 2014
Written by Louise Cowlishaw - Hometyre HQ
HometyreGroup
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