Tyre safety a “ticking bomb”

ATS Euromaster manager shares experience of shocking lack of consumer safety awareness

The manager of a tyre and vehicle maintenance centre in Waterloo Road, Manchester, is urging motorists to pay closer attention to their tyres – warning that the number of illegal tyres in circulation on local roads is posing a grave risk to safety.

Paul Duff, a multi-site manager for ATS Euromaster, says that nearly 90 per cent of the tyres his team have replaced this year have had less than 1.6mm of tread remaining – meaning they were illegal when customers drove onto the forecourt.

“Tyre safety has got a lot worse in this area over the last five years,” he says. “More vehicles now have low profile tyres and it’s pushing up replacement costs. As a result, some owners stretch to afford the nice car, but then can’t afford to maintain it. Plus you’ve got others who simply never remember to check their tyres.

“Last week a motorist came in with a vibration fault on a family car and we traced the problem to three illegal tyres. The steel cords were showing where the rubber had worn away, but when we pointed it out, she wasn’t interested in replacing them. I wish I could say it was an isolated incident, but it’s become commonplace.”

Department for Transport statistics from 2013 show that illegal, defective or underinflated tyres were the most common vehicle defect contributing to accidents in Great Britain where a Police officer attended the scene.

Car and van tyres must be fit for purpose. This means being compatible with the tyres fitted to the other wheels, not have any lump, bulge or tear caused by separation or partial failure of the structure, not have a cut or tear in excess of 25mm or 10 per cent of the sectional width of the tyre, whichever is the greater, and which is deep enough to reach the ply or cord. Furthermore, no part of the ply or cord can be exposed. The remaining tread depth must also be at least 1.6mm throughout a continuous band in the centre three-quarters of the tread and around the entire circumference.

Paul Duff, 44, has worked at ATS Euromaster since he got a part-time job for the company as a cleaner, aged just 14. Today he manages three ATS Euromaster centres, in Waterloo Road, Rusholme and Stockport – part of a network of 18 centres located within 20 miles of Manchester city centre, and more than 340 nationwide.