Shocking number of illegal tyres in use on UK vehicles

More than six million tyres in use on the UK’s vehicles today are illegal. This was one of the facts to emerge from a series of presentations delivered at the TyreSafe Briefing 2024, held at the National Motorcycle Museum on 13 June.

The briefing was opened by Stuart Lovatt, Chair of TyreSafe, who identified three types of driver when it comes to tyre safety:

• those who ‘can and do’ who simply need reminding via safety campaigns;
• those who ‘can and don’t’ who need a combination of education and the fear of enforcement;
• those who ‘can and won’t’ for whom enforcement is the only option.

Max Brown, head of technical services at National Highways, told delegates that tyre-related issues are the most common vehicle defect contributing to collisions on the strategic road network, and that National Highways’ research suggests that tread depth is being managed well by fleet operators, but tyre pressure less so.