Check Your Tread – 20p Could Save Your Life

Tyres are the only part of the vehicle which are in contact with the road. Safety in acceleration, braking, steering and cornering all depend on a relatively small area of road contact. It is therefore important that your tyres are well maintained and that tyre tread depth is above the legal limit to maximise performance and safety – it could save your life.

Tyre Safe, the not for profit, non commercial organisation dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of the dangers of defective and worn tyres is once again running their Tyre Safety Month campaign throughout October.

The campaign focuses on the importance of sufficient tread depth. By law, car tyres must have a minimum of 1.6mm of tread in a continuous band throughout the central three-quarters of the tread width and round the entire circumference of the tyre. Drivers are responsible for making sure their tyres are legal and in a roadworthy condition and the penalty for driving with an illegal tyre is a fine of up to £2,500 and three penalty points per tyre.

You can check your own tread depth simply and quickly just by using a 20p coin, referred to in the campaign as a ‘Lifesaver In Your Pocket’.

Inserting a 20p coin into a tyre’s tread grooves and checking if the rim of the coin is covered by the tread gives a good indication as to whether your tyres are still safe and legal. Perform this check in the main tread grooves across the width of the tyre and repeat the exercise at several locations around its circumference. If you can see the rim of the coin on the tyre, the tread may be worn close to the legal limit and needs to be checked by a tyre specialist.

Tyre Shopper is supporting the campaign by encouraging its fitting partners to offer customers free tread, pressure and general condition checks for their tyres. For details of your nearest fitting partner, enter your postcode.

For further details about Tyre Safe and Tyre Safety Month visit www.tyresafe.org.