Tyres are your only point of contact with the road surface. You cannot neglect the condition of your Tyres. If you do you could endanger not only yourself and your passengers, but also other road users. Black Circles recommend that you should check the condition of your Tyres regularly. We recommend you check your tyres at least once a month.
A Nationwide Survey (Tyre Industry Council, 2002) showed that almost 27% of vehicles had tyres with tread depths of less than 2mm. It is accepted that tyre performance and in particular braking in the wet, deteriorates dramatically below 2mm. Approximately 12% of vehicles actually had illegal tyres.
Why should you check your tyres?
Did you know that you are not insured when driving on illegal tyres? Worn tyres significantly impede the performance of your car. Do not forget that a worn tyre reduces the effectiveness of braking, steering, and acceleration, all of which are vital in staying safe. What are a few minutes put aside now to check your tyres, when you compare it to your own safety and that of your family’s?
What should you check?
The Tyre Industry Council have devised a five point tyre check:
- Check overall condition of tyres, including inner and outer sidewalls.
- Check tyre tread depth.
- Check all tyre pressures.
- Check signs of irregular wear, i.e. alignment.
- Check and examine the spare tyre.
Please contact Black Circles on 0845 200 0022 for advice.
Tyre Pressures
A tyre can be under inflated without looking flat. To be safe you should check the pressures once a fortnight. To find out what pressure your tyres should be at please refer to your Vehicle Manual. Remember that tyre pressures should only be checked when your tyres are cold. A good guideline is to leave them for an hour to cool down before checking. You must not drive on under or over inflated tyres. This will impede your vehicles handling, in cases making the vehicle unstable. The wrong tyre pressure will increase tyre wear.
Wheel Alignment
Is your tyre evenly worn across the surface? If not then it could be due to over or under inflation. (Please see Tyre Pressure Section above). If it is only worn on one edge it could be as a result of poor wheel alignment. If this is the case you need to have a professional garage check on your Tracking. Black Circles can arrange this for you.
Wheel Balancing
An unbalanced wheel does not just simply cause an annoying shake it can cause actual mechanical damage. All Black Circle Fitting centres will balance your wheel as a matter of course after replacing a tyre.
Tread Depth
The legal limit for car tread depth is 1.6mm (across 75% of the tyre). However the deeper the tread the more grip you have. Black Circles advise that you replace your tyres when the tread is less than 3mm. It is not safe to ignore the minimum tyre tread depth. It is illegal. For each illegal tyre you face a fine of up to £2,500, and may receive three penalty points.
Spare Tyre
Even if you never use your spare it is vital that you check it is in good condition. Check the pressure, and the tyre treads periodically. It is better to discover any problems in a safe and comfortable environment, i.e. at home, than by the roadside.
Tyre Safety Press Release 25.2.2004
TYRE SAFETY
‘THERE MAY BE TROUBLE AHEAD’
25 February 2004
How many of us consider the condition of our car tyres before it comes time to renew the MOT test, we have a blow-out or the baldness becomes more apparent than the neighbour down the road with the bad comb-over?
Very few indeed apparently, as statistics provided by the Tyre Industry Council (TIC) – Britain’s foremost tyre safety organisation – demonstrate that approximately 70% of motorists are unaware of what constitutes illegal or unsafe tyres.
Now, before you think about turning the page, consider that poor tyre safety awareness and maintenance has led to over three thousand motor-related fatalities and up to 360,000 injuries per year throughout the UK. In these instances, faulty or improperly inflated tyres were identified as a contributing factor.
Though these statistics should be enough to deliver a solid reality check, the associated costs in terms of damaged property and associated rises in insurance premiums run into £billions.
Not surprisingly, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) recently issued a statement about the detrimental impact of faulty tyres on an insurer’s willingness to pay out at the time of accident.
And if nothing else motivates you to check your tyres before heading to your next stop today then read that last sentence again and then move on!
What the motor insurance companies are essentially saying is that if you have an accident and the condition of your tyres is suspect then beyond endangering the lives of everyone on the road you may be recklessly abandoning your future financial security.
The insurance community has seen fit to highlight unsafe tyres as a mitigating factor when apportioning blame at the time of vehicular accident as well as reserving the right to render a vehicle as uninsured. As a result, motorists may at the time of accident find themselves exposed to enormous personal financial loss in terms of any automobiles involved, personal injury suffered as well as for property reparation.
But even if you escape a fender bender or more serious encounter with another driver, the government has put in place potential fines of up to £2,500.00 per faulty tyre as well as applying three penalty points against the licenses of drivers found in breach of this law.
Enter Michael Welch, the managing director and mastermind behind tyre retailer Black Circles (www.blackcircles.com). The young entrepreneur is this year planning to launch a National Tyre Safety Card campaign in an attempt to save us all some unnecessary aggravation or worse a real and serious problem.
Of the campaign Mr. Welch says, “We’re set to launch a National Tyre Safety Card campaign in an attempt to educate motorists about tyre safety, maintenance and purchase. The campaign includes a pocket-sized card which will be available for free throughout the UK later this year.”
Having recently received the Shell LiveWire Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the overall prize at Scotland prestigious Winners at the Web (W@W) competition, Mr. Welch has been actively working to change buyer behaviour in what is an extremely traditional retail market.
The pocket sized card which can be inserted between the tread of a tyre gives an instant indication about whether a tyre is acceptable, has dangerous levels of wear or is illegal and a hazard to the vehicle owner and other motorists.
“The majority of drivers only consider the state of their tyres when instructed to do so at the local garage or when the threads begin to show,” Continues Mr. Welch. “Few consider the thousands of fatalities and hundreds of thousands of injuries every year that can be attributed to illegal or improperly inflated tyres. While the financial costs for such run in the billions of pounds, the price in terms of personal safety is incalculable.”
“The potential positive impact of Black Circles Tyre Safety Card could be enormous. The Safety Card’s tangible self-test method allows motorists to check
the legality of their tyres easily. If we can provide a simple option for maintenance we can change behaviour and perhaps even save lives.”
Black Circles, which provides low priced tyres and an appointment service for customers at any of its 900 strong fitting network, prides itself on its exceptional standard of customer service. The company is due to announce the launch of its National Tyre Safety Card and distribution partner in the coming months.
“It goes without saying that damage caused by injury or in the worst instance, loss of life, is the most detrimental result of any accident,” says Mr. Welch. “And yet with all of these facts and opportunities for change emerging through road safety and public awareness campaigns we still maintain an extremely high level of apathy about what constitutes basic road safety in terms of the four points of contact between a motorist, his or her passengers and the road below.”
So take heed of the road ahead today and have a look at those tyres. The option to avoid trouble ahead depends now on what you decide to do next.
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