One in six modern cars sold has been found to have potentially dangerous tyres an investigation by Cardiff University’s Automotive Department and Halfords reports.
The investigation was carried out by Dr Peter Wells, Director of the Centre for Automotive Research at Cardiff University, and looked at 500 cars on sale from 100 locations across the UK, including cars built in 2009 that would include modern classics.
It discovered around 1 in 12 cars are sold with less than 3mm of remaining tyre tread and would receive an at an advisory warning at an MoT.
Several cars were found to be at or below the legal tread depth limit of 1.6mm, meaning they are illegal or could be by the time the new owner gets home from collecting the car.
Half of UK car buyers say they have had to change at least one of their car’s tyres within the first year of ownership.
Professor Wells said: ‘Tyres are one of, if not the most, safety-critical aspect of a vehicle. Once they approach 3mm, their braking and roadholding ability has already begun deteriorating noticeably and it only gets worse from there.
‘The difference in stopping distance between new tyres and ones with 1.6mm of tread is 75 meters if travelling at 70mph in wet conditions. That’s the difference between stopping in time, or crashing at 46mph. There is a question of whether 1.6mm should be road-legal at all.’
The report has been released during Tyre Safety Month and TyreSafe Chair Stuart Lovatt said: ‘This is the most detailed study we have seen into the state of tyres on vehicles being offered for sale in the UK and suggests that huge numbers are being sold with sub-standard tyres. Our aim is to reduce tyre-related incidents on Britain’s roads and this research highlights how careful consumers have to be when buying a car and the importance of taking personal responsibility for checking your tyres are safe.’
Halfords Garages Managing Director Adam Pay believes the law needs to change in the UK to make it illegal to sell a car with tyres that are at the legal limit of tread depth. He said: ‘The current rules for tread depth on cars sold do not put motorists’ safety first. Most motorists do not check tyres between MOTs and expect a car they have bought will be safe until its next MOT. The fact it is legal to sell a car with a 12 month MOT that, in a matter of miles or days will be illegal, at best lacks common sense and at worse could cost lives. The law needs an urgent rethink.’
