Car Tyres Fail Simple Test

More than 20% of vehicles tested by Chichester neighbourhood policing team officers had tyres that failed to meet legal requirements. 

The officers were supporting this year’s National Tyre Safe month campaign, ‘Driving Rain, Driving Safe’, which focuses on the importance of adequate tread depth on tyres during wet weather.

The tread grooves on tyres help to remove the water from the contact patch between the wheel and the road surface ensuring a good grip on the road. In wet conditions, tyres with a good tread depth can typically clear enough water from the road to fill a bucket in around seven seconds!

Local officers were on hand to speak to shoppers in Selsey and in Chichester to promote the ’20p test’, a quick and easy way for checking tyre tread depth to make sure that your tyres are legal.

This is done by simply inserting a 20p coin into a tyre’s main tread grooves to see if the outer rim of the coin is covered by the tread. Repeat this in all the main grooves and at several points around its circumference. If you can see the rim of the coin when it is inserted at any point, the tyre may be illegal and should be checked by a tyre specialist.

PC Jason Lemm said:

“2013 was one of the wettest winters on record in the UK and in wet weather and without sufficient tread depth your tyres may not be able to cope properly and you face an increased risk of aquaplaning.

Over two days, a total of 201 vehicles were checked and the owners were shown how to complete the 20p test. Advice was given to the 45 of these that fell below the legal limit.