Of the 150,000 tyre safety checks carried out last year, 30,000 vehicles had tyres that required attention, says Kwik-Fit Fleet’s Mike Wise. And with a fine of £2500 per illegal tyre, there’s a financial as well as a safety imperative to ensure all business cars and business vans have tyres in good condition.
Businesses are concentrating more on at-work safety. That means more tyre safety inspection checks.
Last year we carried out 200,000 inspections; this year we expect to carry out 250,000.
There’s a good reason for this. Initial checks on those 200,000 vehicles found that 20% required attention.
Typical problems included under or over inflation; damage to the tyre wall; and tread below or close to the 1.6mm legal minimum.
As tyres are the only part of the vehicle in contact with the road, it’s important to make sure they are in good condition.
The fine for driving on illegal tyres is £2500 per tyre – plus a three points per tyre licence endorsement.
So there’s a good financial reason to make sure business drivers are driving legally as well as the vitally important human aspect.
And, by ensuring regular tyre checks, small businesses will make certain they fulfil all their health and safety obligations.
The effects of tyre tread on stopping distances at 70mph
- New tyre, 8mm tread
stopping distance of 100 metres
- Tyre, 3mm tread
stopping distance increases to 150 metres
- Tyre, 1.6mm tread
stopping distance increases to 200 metres
- Tyre, 1mm tread
stopping distance increase to 250 metres