Two thirds of drivers don’t know legal tread depth

Drivers unaware of the safety issues of tyres at 1.6mm tread depth, and two-thirds admit to not knowing that it is the legal limit. That’s the stark findings of a survey conducted by Continental Tyres.

Some 40 per cent of motorists have never checked the tread of their tyres, choosing instead to wait for a service, and 20 per cent  don’t actually know how to check their tyres.

Eighty percent admitted they felt the performance of their tyre deteriorating, affecting stopping distances and braking, but it didn’t change their attitude to tyre checks.

And  nearly 50 per cent don’t feel educated enough about the importance of checking tyre treads, the survey in the UK by Continental Tyres revealed.

Although the legal tread depth limit in Ireland and in Britain is  1.6mm,  Continental recommends the optimum time to replace worn tyres is 3mm, “a responsible compromise between safety, economics and driver confidence”, the company says.