Every so often, you’ll see in the news that the police focus on a specific area of crime to check on compliance with the rules and show that they won’t tolerate offenders.
At the moment, you might see an increased number of traffic officers in lay-bys at the side of main roads (primarily A roads) in the north, carrying out vehicle checks at random with passing motorists.
It comes at a time that they’re warning drivers to check their tyres, as in the coming months the weather will deteriorate, meaning that poor tread depth goes from being dangerous to potentially lethal. It’s hard enough to stop in a properly maintained vehicle on icy roads, so with bald tyres, you’d have no chance of stopping quickly in an emergency.
If you weren’t already aware, driving an unroadworthy vehicle can result in you getting a sizeable fine as well as points on your licence. The size of fines is designed to be a deterrent to drivers, so not only will you need to pay that if you’re caught, but also get the work done to bring your vehicle within the legal guidelines too.
Worse still, if you’re involved in an accident, you could even end up in prison if it’s clear you recklessly drove an unroadworthy vehicle.
All it takes to check your tyres is to drop into your nearest mechanic – most will check your tyres for free. Companies like Kwik Fit will be able to check them for you and advise on both whether you need to have work done and if so what you need to do and what tyres to buy.
Economy tyres can be appealing, but it’s important to understand that they don’t have as good grip and even your fuel consumption can increase with poor quality. They’re perfectly safe to use, but you will normally need to replace them more frequently than premium alternatives – just make sure you understand the implications of your decision if you opt for budget prices.