Revealed: scale of tyres at dangerously low tread depth on cars in Ireland

Published on 28 September, 2022

Overview

Shocking new figures show many motorists are driving on dangerous tyres.

These drivers demonstrate blatant disregard for safety, according to a countrywide survey of tyre dealers designed to coincide with Road Safety Week.

Some depots report that up to 90pc of the tyres they replaced were at illegal tread depths.

That means people had been driving on dangerous tyres for potentially a long time. They risk penalty points and fines under regulations on defective or worn tyres.

The survey was carried out by German premium tyre manufacturer, Continental Tyres, at several retailers during August.

Staff dealt with hundreds of tyres that were, in nearly all the outlets, below the legal tread depth limit of 1.6mm.

They saw tyres that were bald and dangerous to drive on. One was manufactured in the 12th week of 2002. Tyres generally only have a usable life of six years – you will fail the NCT if your tyres are older than six years.

When a tyre is worn down a level at, or below, the legal tread level of 1.6mm it is not safe and is unroadworthy as it requires much longer stopping distance.

In more than half of the outlets surveyed, 50pc or more tyres that they replaced were below the legal 1.6mm of tread depth.

Tom Dennigan of Continental Tyres Ireland said: “Just think of that. Those thousands of vehicles that were driving on the roads just minutes beforehand were running on badly worn and seriously defective tyres.”

He decried the “woeful” levels of disregard for tyre safety regulations among a significant proportion of motorists.

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“I would describe tyres like these as ticking time bombs – nobody knows “the when” or “the where” that one of these tyres could lead to a serious incident.

“For sure, it would not only be a disaster for the driver and occupants of the vehicle in question, but also for any other unsuspecting road user who just happened to be on the same road at the same time.”

A sample of the survey results shows the widespread nature of the problem:

• At Sean McManus Tyres in Drogheda, Co Louth, tyres worn to below 1.6mm made up 90pc of what staff replaced.
• Loughrea Tyres in Co Galway reported that 80pc of tyres replaced there were at or below the legal tread depth level.
• Newbrook Tyres in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, found 70pc of tyres taken off vehicles were below the 1.6mm limit.
• For JW Tyres in Carlow, 40pc of tyres replaced were excessively worn.

There was evidence of a seemingly better level of care in urban areas. R&R Tyres in Ballincollig, Co Cork, and BestDrive in Swords, Co Dublin, respectively reported figures of 40pc and 18pc replaced tyres at or below the legal tread depth limit.

Here’s a quick tyre check aid:

The gold band on the front face of the €1 coin (beside the large “1” and map of Europe) is 3mm wide. 

So by inserting the coin into the centre grooves of the tyre, you will be able to see how much tread is left.

Safety organisations and many tyre manufacturers recommend motorists consider changing their tyres when the tread depth goes below 3mm as the tyre’s braking ability can be seriously compromised the closer it gets to the legal limit of 1.6mm.

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