ATS Survey Finds 10% of Fleet Cars Have Tread Below 1.6mm

Almost one in ten cars examined by ATS Euromaster as part of a recent unscheduled tyre safety inspection were found to have at least one tyre which was at or below the legal limit of 1.6 millimetres or another similarly major defect. The surprise car park inspection saw technicians record the tyre tread depth and overall condition of each tyre on 147 cars at a popular conference venue in Birmingham.

Following the inspections, technicians left advice cards warning drivers about their tyre condition. Fourteen vehicles (9.5 per cent) were in red condition, according to the company’s traffic light scale, with one or more tyres at a tread depth at or below the legal limit of 1.6mm, or with a serious defect requiring immediate attention. A further 15 vehicles (10.2 per cent) received ‘amber’ warnings – typically tyres where the tread depth is getting low (2mm or below) or with defects requiring attention. The remaining 118 cars (80.3 per cent) had tyre tread depths above 2mm on all tyres, and no obvious defects.

Commenting on the findings, Peter Fairlie, group sales director at ATS Euromaster, said: “Duty of Care and the Corporate Manslaughter Act 2007 are playing a significant role in raising awareness within the fleet sector of the importance of tyre safety, but as this random inspection shows, more still needs to be done.

“With almost 10 per cent of cars having at least one tyre which urgently needed replacing, drivers are not only putting themselves at risk of receiving penalty points, but also increasing the likelihood of being involved in an accident. Factor in those cars with amber warnings, for which new tyres are strongly recommended, particularly with the risk of snow and ice-covered roads at this time of year, and that figure rises to nearly 20 per cent.”