Today's blog post is something a little different, I've teamed up with the car tyre dealership Point S for an awareness blog post. It's a post all about the dangers of driving with worn out tyres on your car and how you can tell if you're tyres are worn, the dangers of buying part-worn tyres and also how to prevent driving with worn tyres and potentially causing yourself and other people serious injuries or even worse.
I passed my test in Summer 2015 after a few years of on and off driving lessons. I was so happy when I passed first time. I really did not expect it, as I was a complete wreck before my driving test. But then once the excitement of having your own car dies down, you're on the road on your own and you realise how different it is to drive alone with no guidance and also understanding your car and it's noises (my car is a diesel so it's always quite noisy lol) and I'll admit it is quite hard to get used to at first.
How can I tell if my cars tyres are worn or wearing out?
If you think one side of your car is making more noise than the other side and you feel as if your car just doesn't "feel right" or just isn't gripping the road as well as usual, then you should pull over right away in the next safe place and check your tyres and wheels. It doesn't matter if you're rushing off to work or running late for an appointment, your safety and other peoples safety comes first. Always. Many people ignore these noises and feelings and just think "I'll look at it when I get home or I'll take it to the garage this week" and it's not a good way of thinking because you're potentially driving in an unsafe car.You should always be checking to make sure that your tyres aren't showing any signs of bulging or cuts. If you happen to hit a big pothole, which let's face it, they seem to be popping up everywhere lately, you should also check to make sure that it hasn't damaged your tyres. Another thing you should be doing is checking your tyre pressure regularly (every few weeks is a good habit to get into). As under inflated tyres are very dangerous and can majorly affect the handling of your car. Also having under inflated tyres can make your tyres wear out faster.
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| Tread depth indicator |
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| This tyre is close to or has just become illegal |
You should be regularly checking and making sure that your tyres have at least 3mm tread. The legal minimum is 1.6mm but I personally think changing at 3mm is a lot safer.
Driving a vehicle with defective tyre(s) is classed as a criminal offence (Driving an un-roadworthy vehicle) and you can be given 3 points per defective tyre and also fined up to £2500! If you was driving around with all of your tyres un-roadworthy then you would see yourself with 12 points and an automatic ban. Which obviously is a lot more costly than buying a new set of tyres!
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"Figures suggest that 4.5 million part-worn tyres are sold in the UK every year. In some areas more than 80% are sold illegally, many with serious safety defects, according to council Trading Standards' teams."
"Part-worn tyres are being sold with unsafe repairs and incorrect labelling, council Trading Standards teams reported. In 2015, there were 16 deaths and 908 road causalities that involved illegal, defective or under-inflated tyres, according to government figures".
- Taken from BBC News
Knowing that so many people are driving around with unsafe, potentially deadly dangerous part worn tyres is very scary. Also if you take into account bad weather conditions and/or driving over the speed limit too, it makes the risk of worn tyres even worse, as they have little to no grip on the road. At the end of the day, checking your tyres literally takes minutes and can improve your handling of your car and potentially saving yourself and others from having an accident or worse.
If you are in need of a some new tyres then you're in luck as Point S offers tyres in Sheldon among many other location in the UK. Point S also have a handy brand locator on their website which you can find here.
I hope you liked reading this post.
Have you had any accidents relating to worn out tyres? If so, leave a comment to help raise the awareness of the potential risks of driving with part worn or worn out tyres.
*this is a sponsored post in collaboration with Point S
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