Illegal tyres a pressing problem in the UK
Millions of UK motorists are driving vehicles which have illegal tyres, a new study has indicated.
In news which will be of interest to fleet managers, research conducted on behalf of Continental Tyres has revealed that as many as 3.5 million UK drivers have got illegal tyres.
A third of the 4,000 road user questioned said that they do not know how to check the pressure and tread depth of their tyres.
Moreover, 41 per cent admitted that they have never checked the tyres of their vehicle.
Continental Tyres' head of safety Tim Bailey stressed that such checks are quick and easy to do and should not be ignored by drivers.
He said: "One in five drivers polled have suffered a blow-out and three-quarters of us understand that low tyre tread depth causes accidents in wet weather yet we still do not recognise the risks we take by not checking and replacing tyres more regularly.
"People just don't think about it enough or they don’t know what to look for."
According to the research, seven out of ten people questioned did not know that the minimum legal limit of tyre tread is 1.6mm.
