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Over a quarter of vehicles have unsafe tyres

Date: 15 March 2017   |   Author: Daniel Puddicombe

More than a quarter (27%) of vehicles could be on the roads with unsafe tyres, a poll has claimed.

According to a survey conducted by AA Tyres, an estimated 8.1 vehicles haven't had their tyre pressures checked in the last two months.

The estimated figures is calculated by finding 27% of 30 million, the number of licenced vehicles currently on the roads.

Of that group, 7% haven't assessed their pressures in the last six months, AA Tyres found.

The motoring organisation's poll of 20,033 members also found that a much higher proportion of drivers have checked their screenwash levels (56%), windscreen, condition of the car's bodywork (47%) and lights (43%).

Londoners were the worst culprits for failing to check their vehicles' tyres, with 35% admitting they haven't made an assessment in at least two weeks, followed by those living in Northern Ireland (32%) and South East residents (29%).

"It doesn't take much misuse of brand new tyres to go from safe to dangerous. Checking tyre pressures is the bread and butter of car management, so it's surprising that over a quarter of UK drivers have failed to do this recently," said Mark Shankland, managing director of AA Tyres. "On average, even if they are correctly fitted and undamaged, tyres can lose up to two pounds per square inch every month - add in the potential of minor damage going unnoticed and you could be running on dangerously low levels before you know it."

Department for Transport statistics suggested that in 2015, 32.6% of accidents in the UK in which vehicle defects were a contributory factor were due to under-inflated, defective or illegal tyres. This equated to 112 serious accidents and 14 deaths.

AA Tyres suggested motorists should check tyres every two weeks when they are cold and haven't been used two hours prior to the assessment, as the pressures can increase when the rubber heats up on the move.

 

 



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