Monthly Car Care Challenge: tyre safety checks

Essential tasks - and brilliant opportunities!

Regular car safety checks are an important part of being a car owner, and they are also a brilliant opportunity to get your future driver involved in activities that will help them to learn and understand, and to develop practical skills ready for becoming a learner driver!

Below you'll find information and resources to support you to introduce: TYRE SAFETY CHECKS to your future driver.

This includes your free guide and activity log - with space to record the tread depth and pressure for each tyre as you carry out the activity with your future driver, so you can track how they change over time!

Tyre safety questions may be part of the driving theory AND practical driving tests set by the DVSA, which your learner driver will take as they prepare for a lifetime of safer driving.

Keep reading for

The benefits of regular tyre safety checks
The risks of driving with dangerous or illegal tyres
How to check your tyres and what to look for
How to access and use your free guide and activity log

Every time we drive around - especially in heavy rain or on muddy roads, when there's been a hard frost or a falling of snow - our tyres are the only parts of our car in contact with the road, the only parts keeping us ON the road - so it makes sense to look after them so they have a better chance of looking after us ....

The benefits of regular tyre safety checks

Spoiler alert: as well as making your journeys safer - they can save you money!

It'll be safer

Safe tyres are essential for safer journeys, and the only way to know if your tyres are safe is to check them!

Brand new tyres start with a tread depth of around 8mm, over time the surface wears away and the tread depth reduces. The legal minimum tread depth is 1.6mm, but it is recommended tyres are replaced when the tread depth gets to around 3mm as by that point their ability to grip the surface of the road is also substantially reduced.

Tyres can easily be damaged, for example: by potholes or contact with a kerb. This can cause an obvious cut or tear on the outer wall of the tyre, or a less obvious lump or bulge where the wall has been weakened. Any cuts, tears, lumps or bulges should be checked at a local garage as soon as possible - due to the risk the tyre may burst while you are driving.

Tyres need to be kept at a pressure that is suitable for the vehicle, and also for the load (weight) being carried. Having under or over-inflated tyres can affect the way the vehicle handles - especially at higher speeds, it can increase the stopping distance if you need to brake suddenly, and it can increase the risk of a tyre bursting while you are driving.

It'll work out cheaper

As well as the potential for a fine, or multiple fines, for driving with dangerous or illegal tyres (see below), if your tyres are not at the correct pressure it could cost you more to run your car.

The recommended tyre pressure will vary depending on your vehicle, and also depending on the load you are carrying. If you are usually in the car on your own, the recommended tyre pressures will be different if you are getting ready to go on holiday with all the family and a boot full of luggage.

The recommended tyre pressures are usually found in the vehicle handbook and / or on a sticker on the car - either inside the fuel filler cap or on the pillar behind the driver's seat. Tyre pressures should always be checked when the tyres are cold, as while driving the air in the tyres warms up and the readings will not be accurate.

If your tyres are under-inflated, ie. at a lower pressure than what is recommended - the tyres will need replacing sooner as the edges of the tread will wear more than they should, plus your fuel consumption will also be higher.

If your tyres are over-inflated, ie. at a higher pressure than what is recommended - the tyres will need replacing sooner as the centre part of the tread will wear more quickly than it should.

A wheel or wheels can also become unbalanced, which can easily be caused by eg. driving through a pothole or hitting a kerb. This can mean the tyres don't wear down evenly, but can be fixed by a visit to a garage that does wheel-balancing.

The risks of driving with dangerous or illegal tyres

Potentially putting your life at risk - and potentially very expensive.

Safety risks

As explained above our tyres need to have adequate tread depth - the legal minimum is 1.6mm but ideally a minimum of 3mm, to be free from cuts, tears, bulges and any other damage, and with the correct tyre pressures for the vehicle and the load.

If our tyres don't meet these requirements the handling and stopping distances may be affected, and there could be a higher risk of a tyre bursting while you are driving - which may mean being involved in an incident or collision that could have been avoided.

Financial risks

If you are involved in a driving related incident or collision which leads to an insurance claim - having a tyre or tyres which don't meet the minimum legal standards could mean your insurance is assessed as not valid. If this happened as well as your insurance claim being rejected - you could potentially be prosecuted for driving without insurance.

If the police have reason to check your vehicle and they find a tyre or tyres which don't meet the minimum legal standards - you could get a fine of £2,500 and 3 points on your driving licence per tyre, so potentially a fine of £10,000 and 12 penalty points if all 4 tyres fail police checks.

How to check your tyres and what to look for

Checking your tyres doesn't take long - and is a brilliant activity to do with your future driver!

There are 3 easy ways to check your tread depth

Use a tyre tread depth gauge to check the tread of each tyre in 2-3 places.
Check the tread wear markers in the tread of each tyre. These are included when the tyre is manufactured and will be hidden when the tyre is new, becoming visible as each tyre wears down. If the tread wear marker is level with the rest of the tyre you have reached or gone below the legal minimum of 1.6mm tread depth.
Insert a 20p coin into the tread of each tyre in 2-3 places. If the outer border of the coin is hidden your tread depth is more than 1.6mm - if it is visible you have reached or gone below the legal minimum of 1.6mm tread depth.

The legal minimum of 1.6mm tread depth must be all the way around each tyre, and at least 3/4 of the way across.

If your tyres are wearing unevenly - either more quickly on the edges or in the centre, this could mean your tyres have been kept under or over-inflated, or the wheel is unbalanced (see above).

If any of your tyres are getting close to 3mm tread depth it's time to think about replacing them - especially if we're heading into the winter when our tyres need more tread depth to have more grip on wet and icy roads.

Record the tyre tread depths on our Monthly Car Care Challenge activity log so you can track as the tread depth reduces.

Visually check each tyre

For cuts, tears, bulges or any other damage to the outer wall of the tyre.
For stones that are stuck in the tread and are easy to remove.

Any damage to your tyres increases the risk of a tyre bursting while you are driving, and perhaps being involved in an incident or collision that could have been avoided.

Check the pressure of each tyre

Check the vehicle handbook and / or sticker on the car for the recommended tyre pressure/s. These will vary depending on the load (weight) being carried.
Use a tyre pressure gauge to check the pressure of each tyre when the tyres are cold.
Don't forget to check the spare tyre if you have one!

Tyres gradually lose pressure as we drive so regular checks are essential to make sure they don't get too low.

If one tyre loses pressure quicker than the others this could mean you have a slow-puncture - check with your local garage and the tyre may be repairable depending on the cause.

Record the tyre pressures on our Monthly Car Care Challenge activity log so you can track as they gradually lose pressure.

How to access and use your free step-by-step guide

Your free Monthly Car Care Challenge guide and activity log.