The 20p test is an easy way to see if your tread might be below the legal limit. Simply place a 20p coin into the main tread grooves of your tyres and if the outer rim of the coin is completely covered by the tread, your tread depth is above the legal limit!
If you can still see the outer rim of the coin, your tread could be less than 1.6mm and you should
take your tyres to a professional to get them checked properly.
Part worn = part safe?
A tyre survey has found that 98% of worn tyres are being sold illegally and 34% of the tyres being offered had dangerous, potentially life-threatening defects!
Did you know that the braking distance on wet roads when travelling at 50mph is 25.9m with a new tyre at 8mm tread depth, but that distance is increased to 37.8m with worn tyres at only 1.6mm of tread.
While the price you pay initially might be lower for worn tyres, you'll end up replacing them much more often. The minimum legal requirement of tread on a part worn tyre is only 2mm whereas if you were to buy new you'd be getting 7-8mm of tread depth and a much safer tyre.
But remember, October shouldn't be the only month you focus on tyre safety! Tyre Safe recommend you
check your tyres once a month every month because safe tyres save lives!
Checking your Tyre Pressures
Your tyre's air pressure helps to distribute the weight of your vehicle evenly across the tyre's tread pattern, so that the tyre and vehicle is as stable as possible. When a tyre is over or under-inflated, it loses its grip significantly, negatively affecting handling, cornering and stopping. And in wet conditions, stopping distances are significantly increased.
About one PSI (pound per square inch) is lost from your tyres every month after you fill them, so checking your vehicles tyre pressure every month can help you to ensure that they are always inflated to their correct pressure.
Ensuring that your tyres have the appropriate air pressure also improves your fuel economy as an under-inflated tyre increases its footprint, causing more friction between the road and rubber, meaning your engine has to work harder to turn the wheels. When your engine needs to work harder to keep the tyres moving, it also produces more emissions into the environment, therefore ensuring your tyres have the correct pressure also prevents unnecessary carbon emissions.