The UK’s tyre safety charity, TyreSafe has announced their support for the national roads policing initiative which is expected to increase awareness of tyre safety to motorists travelling on Britain’s roads. Their support of this initiative will begin with the charity’s handover of 2,000 different digital tread depth gauges to be used by traffic officers throughout the country when carrying out stop checks at the roadside.

This will be the first time that tyres will be included on the list of the different visual vehicle checks that are carried out by police officers. It is thought that this new introduction will act as a significant step forward in the promotion of the tyre safety message to motorists. It is thought that, with the supply of accurate digital gauges on hand to measure the precise tread depth, drivers can then immediately be made aware of the amount of tread that is remaining on their vehicles’ tyres. All of the drivers that are involved in the police spot checks will be reminded that the legal limit for tread depth is 1.6mm minimum.

On top of inspecting the tread depths, police will also have the opportunity to look at the general condition of the tyre during this newly extended vehicle checks. The most common problem that is observed with tyres is a bulge in the sidewall of the tyre, which is quite often caused by internal damage as a result of driving over a pothole or kerbing the vehicle when parking. This form of damage on the tyre can lead to catastrophic failure of the while driving, and because of this, a high risk of causing a serious accident.

It is vital that drivers make sure that their tyres are properly inflated to the correct pressure also, and this is another area of vehicle maintenance that will be highlighted. Tyres that are driven at levels lower that the recommended vehicle manufacturer’s settings are made more vulnerable to damage and can also wear out more quickly. Incorrect inflation can also lead to the vehicle being more difficult to control and can increase the amount of fuel that is used.

The packaging of the tread depth gauge that police officers will receive will feature the different maintenance checks that drivers need to carry out in order to reduce any risks of a tyre-related incident. The gauge and packaging also contain a reminder that for each defective tyre that is found in use on the roads, there is the risk of a potential £2,500 maximum fine as well as three penalty points.