From Reaction to Action: 5-Minute Tyre Check

This October, if you have had a scare or a near miss when driving, road safety charity TyreSafe has been asking drivers to turn that into a sign to take some action.

It is a good idea to undertake a proper tyre safety check at the next safe opportunity. It shouldn’t take longer than five minutes – and can be done on your driveway or a petrol station.

Below, we walk through it. Minute by minute. With some tips on how to turn this into a habit rather than something you only remember after a fright.

What you need for a tyre check

You may have most of this already:

• A tyre pressure gauge. A digital one, or an older analogue style gauge work just as well. If checking when at a petrol station - many forecourt machines let you set a target pressure and will stop when it's reached.
• A tread depth gauge or a 20p coin. A gauge gives you an actual measurement, while the coin is a quick rough check – which tells you whether your tyres are legal or not.
• Your car's recommended pressures. These are in the handbook, on a sticker inside the driver's door frame or inside the fuel filler flap. There are usually two sets of figures, one for normal driving and a higher one for a full load.

A torch – or a phone torch - helps too, especially for looking at the inside edge of the tyres on a dark October evening.

How to do the ACT tyre check, step by step

ACT stands for:

• Air pressure
• Condition
• Tread.

Do the checks in that order and you'll be done in about five minutes.

Minutes 1–2: check your tyre pressure

Check the pressures when the tyres are cold. Ideally before you set off or after only a short drive. Warm tyres read higher than they really are – as the rubber and compounds expand when warm.

Unscrew the valve cap, press the gauge firmly onto the valve and read the figure. Compare it with the recommended pressure for that axle. Front and rear are often different.

Add air if it's low, and let some out if it's high. Then put the valve cap back on, because it keeps dirt and moisture out of the valve.

Minutes 3–4: check tyre condition

Walk slowly round the car and look at each tyre, including the inside edge if you can see it. Turning the steering wheel to full lock makes the front tyres much easier to inspect.

Look for cuts, cracks in the rubber, anything stuck in the tread such as nails, screws or stones. Also keep an eye out for any bulge or bubble in the sidewall.

Uneven wear, such as one edge noticeably more worn than the other, is worth mentioning to a fitter too. It can point to a pressure or an alignment problem.

Minute 5: check your tread depth

The legal minimum for cars is 1.6mm across the central three-quarters of the tread, around the whole circumference.

The quickest check is the tread wear indicators. These are small raised bars across the bottom of the main grooves, set at 1.6mm. If the tread has worn down level with them, the tyre is at the legal limit.

For a measurement, use a tread depth gauge in several places across and around each tyre. Or use a 20p coin: put it into the main grooves, and if you can see the outer band of the coin, have your tyres checked by a professional.

What to do if a tyre fails the check

Most problems you find fall into one of two groups.

Some can wait a short while. A tyre that needed a bit of air. If a tyre loses pressure again within a few days, get it looked at.

Or, tread that's getting close to the indicators but isn't there yet. This means booking new tyres soon and checking more often until then.

Issues which can’t wait include a bulge in the sidewall, a cut deep enough to show the cords, or tread worn level with the indicators means the tyre shouldn't be driven on.

Fit the spare if you have one, or call for help.

If you're not sure what you're looking at, ask a tyre fitter.

After a near miss, make ACT your first response

TyreSafe's research for this year's campaign found that 38% of drivers had a near miss in the past 12 months, but only 11% checked their tyres afterwards.

A near miss is a good moment to check, for two reasons. Hard braking or a sudden swerve can reveal tyres with less grip than you'd want, and a swerve can mean catching a kerb or pothole, which can damage a tyre without you noticing.

It’s best to wait until you're parked somewhere safe. Whether that's the next services or your own driveway. If the car felt wrong during the moment stop sooner and have a look.

How to make a monthly tyre check a habit

TyreSafe recommends checking your tyres at least once a month and before long journeys.

These make it easier to stick to:

• Tie it to something you already do. The first time you fill up each month is an easy trigger. Since you're already at a forecourt with an air line.
• Set a repeating reminder on your phone for the same day each month.
• Add it to your pre-trip routine before holidays, long motorway runs or a weekend away with a full boot.
• Check the spare or repair kit occasionally too. It's easy to find out it's flat at the worst possible time.

If your car has a tyre pressure monitoring system treat the warning light as a backup rather than a replacement.

It usually only comes on once pressure has dropped noticeably, and it can't tell you anything about condition or tread.