Tyre safety warning

Following recent proposals to change the annual MoT to a two-yearly test, a charity dedicated to raising awareness of the dangers of defective tyres is asking the government to reconsider the idea.

The call from TyreSafe comes amidst fears of the likely increase in the number of unroadworthy vehicles on the road that a biennial test could cause. Since the MoT was updated in 2018 to include new categories, including ‘dangerous defects’, over two million of the 7.7 million vehicles first tested were failed for having defective tyres – with 59 per cent of those being categorised as ‘dangerous’.

Stuart Jackson of TyreSafe commented: “While we respect the government’s intention to reduce the financial burden on households, cutting corners on safety is not a responsible solution.

“The price paid in maintaining a vehicle in roadworthy condition is insignificant compared with the human cost of a casualty caused by an incident which might have been avoided.”

The charity’s Tread Depth Survey with National Highways suggests that over a quarter of tyres are already illegal when replaced, meaning 10 million vehicles a year could be on our roads with illegal and dangerous tyres. The charity states: “Without the annual MoT, it’s clear that number would be far greater, as would be the risks to all road users.”