Keep your car tyres safe
Thousands of accidents a year on Britain’s roads could be prevented if the minimum tyre tread depth is increased by 1.4mm, according to the shock findings of an Auto Express investigation. In the first study of its kind, we compared how much more quickly a car fitted with tyres that have 3mm of tread left on can halt from 70mph in the wet, as opposed to when the rubber is on the 1.6mm legal limit.
Our test involved performing an emergency stop while driving along a soaked tarmac test track. The results (see box) are horrifying, and show that the state of your car’s tyres can mean the difference between avoiding an obstacle or hitting it at 50mph.
It’s all down to the fact that braking performance in the wet drops off significantly once the tyre’s tread level falls below 3mm. We found it can take a staggering 44 metres - about 10 car lengths - more for a motor to stop at motorway speeds in the rain if its rubber is on the legal limit ... [see more at Autoexpress.co.uk]
28 February 2011
