201 people killed or seriously injured in defective tyre incidents: Why tyre safety needs our attention

Tyre maintenance can sometimes feel like another item on the motoring checklist.

Check the pressure. Look at the tread. Get them inspected when something doesn’t look right.

But figures highlighted by TyreSafe demonstrate why those simple actions should be viewed as matters of road safety, not just vehicle maintenance.

According to Stuart Lovatt, Chairman of TyreSafe, 201 people were killed or seriously injured in incidents involving defective tyres during 2025 – a 19% increase on the previous year and 38 above the five-year average.

The figures also included 39 tyre-related killed or seriously injured (KSI) casualties among powered two-wheelers – the highest figure in a decade – while car occupant KSIs increased to 120.

For Stuart, however, the numbers only tell part of the story.

“These are not simply statistics; behind every figure is a person, a family and a life affected by something that in many cases could have been prevented.”

The link between tyre maintenance and road safety

Perhaps one of the most concerning aspects of tyre-related incidents is the role maintenance can play.

Research into fatal incidents highlighted by TyreSafe found that 75% of tyre defects where car tyres were a causal factor were attributed to a lack of maintenance.

“That tells us there is a very real opportunity to prevent harm through simple checks and better awareness,” Stuart explains.

And the scale of tyre defects isn’t limited to collision statistics.

TyreSafe say more than two million vehicles fail their MOT each year because of tyre defects.

For Stuart, that points towards the need for a change in the way we think about looking after our tyres.

“We need to move from a culture of reacting to problems to one of prevention.”

Instead of waiting until a tyre looks obviously worn, an MOT identifies a problem or something feels wrong behind the wheel, motorists can use regular checks to identify potential issues earlier.

The legal tread depth limit is a minimum, not a target

For cars in the UK, the legal minimum tread depth is 1.6 mm across the central three-quarters of the breadth of the tyre and around its entire circumference.

But tread depth is only one element of tyre condition.

Underinflation, damage, deterioration, age and uneven wear can all affect a tyre before a motorist necessarily considers it worn out.

Stuart believes this is an important misconception to address.

“There is also a misconception that a tyre is safe simply because it is legal. The legal minimum tread depth is not a target for motorists, and tyre performance can deteriorate through underinflation, damage, age, uneven wear and other factors long before a road user considers the tyre to be worn out.”

The distinction becomes particularly important in challenging conditions.

“In wet conditions, the consequences can be particularly serious because tyres play such a critical role in braking, grip and handling.”

Tyres are responsible for maintaining the vehicle’s contact with the road. Their condition therefore matters every time a driver accelerates, brakes or changes direction.

A few minutes once a month

The encouraging part of TyreSafe’s message is that basic preventative tyre maintenance doesn’t need to be complicated.

Their advice can be condensed into three letters:

ACT – Air Pressure, Condition and Tread

Check that your tyres are inflated to the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended pressures.

Inspect their overall condition, looking for cuts, cracks, bulges and other visible signs of damage or deterioration.

And regularly check the tread across each tyre.

TyreSafe recommend carrying out these checks at least once a month and before longer journeys.

As Stuart explains:

“Our message is deliberately simple: ACT – Air Pressure, Condition and Tread. Check your pressures regularly, look for cuts, cracks, bulges and other signs of damage or deterioration, and check your tread depth.”

It’s a relatively small commitment of time, but making those checks routine gives motorists an opportunity to spot potential problems before setting off.

Tyre safety needs to start with us

Blackcircles.com are proud to support TyreSafe and their work to improve tyre safety across the UK.

But supporting that message shouldn’t only mean talking to motorists about tyre safety. We believe it should start within our own organisation.

Nyo Logan, SEO, Content & PR Manager at Blackcircles.com, has been working to increase the focus on tyre and road safety both within the company and through the information we publish.

“If we want to encourage motorists to take tyre safety more seriously, one of the best places for us to start is with our own people. We work in the tyre industry, so we have an opportunity to make sure our teams understand why regular tyre checks matter and feel confident having those conversations themselves.”

By increasing tyre-safety awareness internally, the aim is to make it something that is understood across the business rather than confined to individual campaigns or teams.

That means encouraging colleagues to think about the condition of their own tyres, understand simple checks such as ACT and recognise the wider role the tyre industry can play in road safety.

Our responsibility doesn’t end when someone buys a tyre

Blackcircles.com also have an opportunity to reach motorists at different stages of vehicle ownership.

People may arrive on our website because they need new tyres, but many also visit looking for answers to questions about tyre pressures, tread depth, tyre damage, seasonal driving and general vehicle maintenance.

For Nyo, that creates an opportunity – and a responsibility – to make reliable tyre-safety information easier to find and understand.

“Our role isn’t simply to help people choose their next tyres. If someone visits Blackcircles.com looking for an answer and leaves understanding something that helps them look after their tyres more effectively, that’s valuable. We can use our platform to give motorists practical information that helps them understand what to check, why it matters and when they should seek professional advice.”

The aim isn’t to make every driver a tyre expert. It’s to make the essential checks easier to understand and, ultimately, easier to turn into habits.

Tyre safety doesn’t have a season

Tyre Safety Month takes place each October and provides an important focal point for raising awareness.

But tyre safety matters during the other 11 months too.

As Stuart puts it:

“Tyre Safety Month is an incredibly valuable opportunity to put the issue in the spotlight, but tyres don’t become safety-critical in October and stop being safety-critical in November.”

A tyre can be underinflated in February. It can suffer damage in May. Low tread can affect performance on a wet road in August.

That’s why we’re working to make tyre and road-safety information a more consistent part of the content we provide throughout the year.

“Road users need to be reminded throughout the year that a few minutes spent checking their tyres can make a significant difference,” Stuart adds.

Why partnerships such as ours with TyreSafe matter

Keeping tyre safety in the public conversation isn’t something a single organisation can achieve alone.

TyreSafe work with more than 260 government, enforcement, road safety and local authority organisations, alongside manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers and other automotive businesses.

“Partnership is central to that. No single organisation can deliver the Government’s ambitious road safety targets on its own,” Stuart says.

For Blackcircles.com, our partnership with TyreSafe gives us an opportunity to amplify independent road-safety expertise to motorists who are already actively engaging with information about their tyres.

For TyreSafe, working with organisations throughout the automotive industry creates more opportunities for their safety messages to reach different groups of road users.

“Bringing those organisations together allows us to reach motorists in different ways and tailor messages to different road users.”

It’s part of a wider approach to road safety in which everyone has a role to play.

“Road safety is a shared responsibility. We need safer roads, safer vehicles, effective enforcement, better education and road users who understand the risks.”

TyreSafe’s goal: fewer incidents, safer roads

Ultimately, success isn’t measured by how many people read an article about tyre safety, see a campaign or remember a slogan.

It’s whether behaviour changes – and whether fewer people are harmed.

“Ultimately, meaningful progress for TyreSafe against its goals would see a sustained reduction in tyre-related deaths and serious injuries and overall incidents, alongside a significant reduction in the number of defective and poorly maintained tyres on our roads.”

Achieving that will require action from Government, road-safety organisations, the automotive industry and individual road users.

For motorists, that contribution can start with something remarkably simple.

Air Pressure. Condition. Tread.

If you haven’t checked your tyres recently, there’s no better time than now. Take a few minutes to check the pressure, inspect the condition and look at the tread on all four tyres.

If something doesn’t look right or you’re unsure about the condition of a tyre, have it checked by a professional.

Because behind every road-safety statistic is a person – and a few minutes spent checking your tyres could help make the next journey a safer one.