If you’re driving your family around, safety is probably one of your top priorities. Safety and car snacks, anyway, because long car journeys with hungry toddlers are not fun at all. Nobody wants to get stuck in traffic with a hangry toddler in the backseat.
It’s important to check that your car tyres are safe and meet the legal requirements. To stay safe and legal with your tyres, UK law states that your vehicle must be fitted with the correct type and size of tyre for your vehicle. That means not only do you need to have the right tyres fitted, but you also need to ensure they are inflated as per the manufacturer’s instructions. Inadequately inflated tyres will cost you more in fuel costs as they are less efficient, and they could also be compromising your safety on the road.
The tread of your tyres is really important, too. In fact, the tread of the tyres is what helps the car grip to the road, and it also helps to shift water on the road. Over time, the tread on your car tyres can wear away, so it’s important to keep an eye on that. The tread helps the car to brake effectively so a worn down tyre can prove dangerous in an emergency. The legal minimum depth for the tread is 1.6 millimetres. This applies to the middle three-quarters of the tyre and must be true for the entire circumference of the tyre.
If you are found to have a tyre with a tread below the legal minimum depth, you could be fined up to £2,500 and end up with points on your license. Oh, and that’s per tyre, so if all four tyres failed to meet the legal standard then you could be fined £10,000 and potentially lose your license.
There’s no need to wait until the tread gets to 1.6 millimetres. In fact, lots of car manufacturers actually recommended that tyres are replaced when the tread reaches 3 millimetres. Once the tread drops below 3 millimetres, stopping distances increase which could be dangerous in an emergency. New tyres could improve the safety of your car, and give you some much-needed peace of mind, so it’s worth enquiring to see whether your car might benefit from a new set of tyres. Book Your Vehicle Tyres Online at Calmac Tyres Northampton.
This is a collaborative post. Photo by Evgeny Tchebotarev on Unsplash
