Considering the amount of pounding they take on the road, our tyres are amazing inventions. They’re also one of the most ignored parts of the car when it comes to health and safety on the road.
Under-inflation and worn treads are just a couple of the problems found when the police stop cars around the UK.
At White’s Bodyworks in West Sussex, we carry out 100s of services and MOTs every month. One of the biggest causes of MOT failure is that one or two tyres are not fit for purpose.
A car with a worn tread is less easy to control on wet or icy roads. It can certainly lead to more accidents and even fatalities.
If you are not concerned about your safety when driving around a car with worn treads then you might like to consider the financial cost.
If you are stopped by the police you can end up with 3 points automatically added to your licence. You can also be fined anywhere up to £2,500. That’s not for the whole car, that’s PER tyre.
If you happen to have 4 worn tyres, you could end up losing your licence and paying £10,000.
Your tyres must be properly inflated. It’s not only a safety issue but an efficiency one. Tyres that are just 6 PSI below the recommended can mean you use up to 3% more fuel to get to your destination.
According to some sources, over half of the cars on the road have a tyre pressure that is 4% below the right inflation level.
There’s a simple way to address this and that’s to check your tyre pressure regularly and get into the habit of topping it up. You can buy small units that plug into the cigarette lighter to check your pressure and reinflate or you could simply visit your local petrol station.
Particularly if you are always on the road, poorly inflated tyres add up. If you use a full tank every day for work, for example, that can waste around upwards of £50 a month.
According to Tyre Safe, defective tyres cause around 1,200 road casualties each year. When you realise how easy it is to check your tyres and ensure they are safe, these are all largely avoidable accidents.
It literally takes just a few minutes to check your tyre tread with a 20 pence piece. Don’t know what this is? Check out the video below:
If you find that your car tyres need changing, do so immediately. Standard tyres can be fitted for as little as £50 and doing so may well change more lives. A tyre change can be done while you wait.
We can attest to this fact. More than 2 million cars each year fail their MOT because of defects to the tyres.
Again, there’s an easy way to address this problem – before your MOT, you can check your tyres, make sure the tread is legal and add some air if needed. It will take you 15 minutes top and will prevent, at least in part, you failing your test.
It’s time we all paid more attention to our tyres. If you’ve ever aquaplaned during wet weather or found your car sliding on an icy surface, you’ll know how challenging retaining control can be. Simple, regular checks are all that it takes.
If you are looking for a local garage in West Sussex that you can rely on, White’s Bodyworks provides a comprehensive service, including servicing and MOT. If you would like to book your car in for an MOT, contact our expert, friendly team today.
