Wheel kickers get tyre inflation advice

A third of UK motorists (32%) believe kicking a tyre is an adequate test of whether it is properly inflated, new research has revealed.

More worrying still was the finding that almost one in four motorists (24%) don’t know how to check if their tyre tread depth is above or below the legal limit, a factor that may explain why two thirds of them (60.5%) have skidded on UK roads during the winter.

More men than women attempt to test tyres by kicking them – with 42% compared to 30% of confessing to the habit – though both are equally ill informed of what emergency solutions they have in their car boot to assist in the event of a puncture.

A startling one in eight (12%) of all drivers who took part in the research study for Halfords Autocentres did not know whether their car had a full size spare wheel, a space-saver wheel, or just a temporary puncture repair kit – highlighting the fact that they had never bothered to check.

In addition, only 14% of UK drivers considered fitting winter tyres compared with 27% of French and 85% of German motorists.