Defective tyres – a real threat to road safety

The vital part that tyres play in a vehicle’s handling, particularly on wet roads, was brought into sharp focus at Cromer Magistrates Court, in Norfolk, earlier this week, when a motorist received fines and penalty points on his licence following the death of a pedestrian in an accident involving a worn tyre.

The motorist was driving a car with a defective offside tyre on a wet road, and under emergency braking the car skidded and hit a pedestrian who died some days later. TyreSafe has consistently warned that bald tyres are a major road safety risk and can cause a vehicle to skid out of control, or in some cases, double the normal stopping distance. According to TyreSafe, around 12 per cent of cars and vans on the roads in the UK have at least one defective tyre, and a further 12 per cent have a tyre below 2mm. Whilst this is not illegal, they should be replaced says the safety organisation.

TyreSafe advises that motorists check their tyres visually every week, and more thoroughly on a monthly basis. The organisation also recommends that drivers should never delay replacing a defective tyre, the consequences, as have been proved in court this week, could be fatal.