Tyre Safety Month: Do you check your tyres properly?

Along with Halloween, October also sees the return of Tyre Safety Month. Northamptonshire Police will be getting this annuel campaign, which encourages road users to regularly check their tyres.

This campaign was organised by the charity, TyreSafe. Its purpose is to raise awareness of the importance of tyre maintenance in a bid to reduce the number of people who are killed or seriously injured as a consequence of tyre-related incidents on UK roads. This figure is currently 170 people per year.

According to research conducted by Tyresafe, one in five UK drivers have never checked their tyres’ tread despite questions about checking tread depth being a common question in UK driving theory and practical tests. Of younger road users, one in three have never checked their tyres’ tread depth.

TyreSafe will be encouraging all drivers to check their tyres’ condition, tread depth and pressure on a monthly basis and before long journeys.

The Northamptonshire Police Safer Roads and Road Crime teams will be backing the tyre safety initiative as part of their road safety campaign, ‘Operation Journey’.

Officers will be setting up roadside checkpoints across Northamptonshire, stopping motorists at random to inspect the condition of their vehicle’s tyres. They will also check tyre conditions during routine stops and share regular tyre safety messaging on the police’s official social media pages throughout October.

Anyone found to be driving with illegal tyres could face penalty points on their license and a fine of up to £2,500 per tyre.

PC Dave Lee, of the Northamptonshire Police Safer Roads Team, said: “We cannot stress enough just how important it is to regularly check the condition of your tyres. Any wear, damage or deflation could seriously affect things such as braking and handling.

“If your tyres are not properly maintained or they are unsafe, they could contribute towards a collision, ultimately putting your life, and that of others, at unnecessary risk on the roads.”

Driving without the correct amount of air in tyres makes a vehicle more difficult to control and because it reduces the grip it has on the road. It increases fuel bills, tyre wear and the risk of causing an accident.

If tyres have any lumps, bumps, cracks or cuts, they may be dangerous and need replacing urgently. All tyres should have a tread depth above the minimum legal limit of 1.6mm to ensure the tyre can maintain a grip on wet roads.

The 20p test is a quick and reliable way to check tread depth. Place a 20p coin into the main tread grooves at three points across the tyre then repeat around its circumference. If the outer band of the coin is visible, the tyres may be unsafe or illegal and should be checked by a professional.

Check your vehicle handbook to see what the correct tyre pressures for your vehicle are. Most manufacturers display a vehicle’s correct tyre pressures inside the filler cap or the driver’s door pillar.

Use a reliable pressure gauge to do your checks and only do this when your tyres are cold to get a more accurate reading. The Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency recommends that you check your tyre pressures at least once a week.

Under-inflated tyres can make steering heavy, increase your fuel consumption and affect braking.

Any uneven wear on the tyres can be caused by faults in the braking system, suspension or wheel alignment.

For more about Tyre Safety Month, visit TyreSafe's website.