Stuart Lovatt, Chairman of TyreSafe, calls for greater awareness of the risks of poor tyre safety.

At the beginning of another new year, we find ourselves at a critical juncture in the realm of road safety. Last year was marked by unprecedented challenges and profound shifts in our daily lives, many of which have spilled over onto our roads. Amidst these transformations, TyreSafe, in conjunction with our dedicated supporters, has amassed a robust dataset that underscores the paramount importance of tyre safety in the broader road safety discourse.

The 2023 TyreSafe Tread Depth Survey revealed some startling and deeply concerning statistics that shine a stark light on the role tyres play in road safety, particularly as contributing factors to fatal and serious collisions. Our previous survey was conducted over six months, but our most recent effort was compiled over a period of one year, providing an increased sample size of over 550,000 tyres, creating a more robust insight into the work we do going forward. It has also informed how we can adapt our approach to various regions in the UK and highlighted the differing attitudes and awareness between car and Light Commercial Vehicle drivers around tyre safety. Across England, 16.6 per cent of car tyres were found to be illegal, compared to 17.2 per cent of LCV tyres.