Your Cars Tyre Tread Depth
Ensuring your tyre tread depth is legal is one of the most important checks you can make on your car. If your tyres are worn there is a greater risk of an accident occurring, a fine being obtained and three penalty points. If all four of the tyres on your vehicle are below the legal limit you could lose your licence and face a £10,000 fine. In this blog we are going to discuss how you should check your tyre tread depth and the minimum tread depth.
How To Check Your Tyre Tread Depth At Home
Using a 20p coin is often the best way to check your tyres at home. By taking a 20p coin and inserting it into a tread mark, if you can’t see the outer part of the coin where you have put it in the groove then your tyre is above the legal limit. However, if you can see the outer section and it is still visible, there is a high possibility that your tyres are unsafe and require a professional inspection.
We recommend that you check your tyres once every two/three weeks when your tyres are cold as possible. You should also check your tyres before long journeys to make sure they are road worthy.
The Minimum Tyre Tread Depth
The legal minimum tread depth is 1.6mm and the most recommended depth is 3mm. Once your tyres are below 3mm, the stopping distance will increase. Meaning it will take longer for you to come to a stop once you have pressed your break. When the roads are wet breaking with a tread of 1.6mm can take you up to twice as long to stop. Rain can also increase the risk of your tyres losing grip and skidding, resulting in a crash. Simply, the deeper the tread the better grip.
Regular checks of your tyres are so important for your safety and the safety of your passengers. To get in touch with the team at Off Rhodes, call us on 01748 811 500 or visit https://www.offrhodesgarage.co.uk/