Police operation clamps down on tyre safety

Police will be stop-checking vehicles to ensure their tyres are safe and legal and educating drivers about vehicle safety in support of a national campaign.

Nottinghamshire's Roads Policing Team will be out and about engaging with motorists and raising awareness of tyre safety as part of a two-week operation.

As part of their enforcement and educational road safety activity, officers will be advising drivers on how they can carry out their own checks and ensuring they rectify defects as soon as possible.

In serious cases they may prohibit vehicles from moving due to tyre defects and offending drivers could be issued with traffic offence reports where deemed appropriate.

The operation, which was launched on Monday (16 October 2023), is in support of this month’s national tyre safety month and part of the team’s ongoing work all year round to keep people safe on Nottinghamshire’s roads.

PC John Skelton, of the roads policing unit, said: “We’re urging drivers to check their tyres regularly- they are after all are the only thing that keeps you on the road.

"They are constantly in contact with the road and if they are defective, they could have a contributing factor in causing fatal or serious injury to you or other road users.

"Reducing serious injury and death on our roads is our top priority and the key thing to remember is that safe tyres do save lives.

“The depth of tread on your tyres is critical when it comes to accelerating, braking, steering, and cornering, especially when the roads are wet.

“Tyre pressure is just as important. Driving with underinflated or overinflated tyres can adversely affect your braking distance, steering, fuel efficiency, and the lifetime of your tyres.

“As we move into more wintery conditions, it’s important people take the time to give their vehicles a thorough check-over, making sure the tyre pressure is correct and the condition and tread of the tyre is compliant, to make sure you reduce the risk of being involved in an accident.”

The three things to check:

⦁ Air pressure:

Use an accurate tyre pressure gauge to check tyre air pressure is at the recommended settings.  The correct settings can be found in the vehicles owner’s handbook.  

⦁ Condition:

Lumps or bulges in a tyre may indicate internal damage and increase the risk of a catastrophic failure.  If these, or cuts and cracks, are found while checking a tyre, the tyre may need replacing and professional advice should be sought.

⦁ Tread depth: 

Tread depth should be checked with an accurate gauge to ensure it is above the minimum legal limit of 1.6mm. 

There is a potential £2,500 maximum fine and three penalty points applicable to each tyre found to be below that limit or in an unroadworthy condition.

If you don’t have an accurate tread depth gauge available, a 20p can be used as a guide to how close your tread is to the limit.

Simply place a 20p coin into the main tread grooves of your tyre. If the outer band of the 20p coin is obscured when it is inserted, then your tread is above the legal limit.  If the outer band of the coin is visible, then your tyres may be illegal and unsafe and should be checked immediately by a qualified tyre professional.

Remember to check at least three locations around each tyre.

For more information on tyre safety visit: Promoting UK Tyre Safety and Driver Awareness