We make better drivers and riders

Are your wheels too tyred to drive? Tips from IAM RoadSmart

Blog post posted on 01/03/19 |
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Advice

It’s important to regularly check your tyres to see if they’re fit and healthy to help you get from A to B safely. That’s why IAM RoadSmart’s Head of Driving and Riding Standards, Richard Gladman, has put together some top tyre tips to help you stay safe on the road:

  • Check your tyres regularly. We recommend weekly vehicle checks which include inspecting tyre pressure, tread depth and the overall condition.
  • Ensure that your tyre’s tread depth is at least 1.6mm for a car (however, we recommend 3mm for consistent wet weather performance) and this must be across the central ¾ around the whole circumference. For motorcycles over 50cc 1mm across ¾ of the width of the tread pattern and with visible tread on the remaining ¼ and for mopeds and scooters under 50cc all of the grooves fro the original tread pattern must be clearly visible.
  • The 20p test – check your tyre tread with a 20p by placing it into the main groove of your tyre. The outer band of the 20p coin should be obscured when it is inserted. TyreSafe have produced a great example of this:
tyre

  • Make sure your tyres have the correct pressure. You can find this information in the vehicle manufacturers’ handbook, on the inside of the fuel filler cap or driver’s door sill, and you can get this information when purchasing tyres.

You can find out more information by visiting the TyreSafe website.

Do you want to find out more ways to stay safe on the road? Try our Advanced Driving Course and get the best out of yourself and your car.

Download our Tyre checks poster here. 

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1.      Richard Gladman is IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards.

2.      IAM RoadSmart has a mission to make better drivers and riders in order to improve road safety, inspire confidence and make driving and riding enjoyable. It does this through a range of courses for all road users, from online assessments through to the advanced driving and riding tests. IAM RoadSmart is the trading name of all businesses operated by the UK’s largest road safety charity, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and was formed in April 2016 combining the IAM, IAM Drive & Survive, PDS and IAM Driver Retraining Academy. The organisation has 92,000 members and campaigns on road safety on their behalf. At any one time there are over 7,000 drivers and riders actively engaged with IAM RoadSmart’s courses, from members of the public to company drivers, while our Driver Retraining Academy has helped 2,500 drivers to shorten their bans through education and support programmes.

To find out more about IAM RoadSmart products and services visit the new website www.iamroadsmart.com

To find out the name of your own local IAM RoadSmart group please visit: https://www.iamroadsmart.com/local-groups

Media contacts:

Further information from:

IAM RoadSmart press office – 020 8996 9777 

press.office@iam.org.uk / www.iamroadsmart.com

ISDN broadcast lines available

Follow us:

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/IAMRoadSmart

On Twitter: @IAMRoadSmart  

ENDS ALL