Vehicle safety organisation TyreSafe is calling on all car owners and fleet operators to carry out regular checks on the state of their tyres to ensure they are roadworthy.

TyreSafe has responded to the publication of new figures from the Ministry of Justice, which showed 10,228 car owners were put in front of the courts in 2012 as a result of serious failings in the state of their tyres – of this figure, 8,919 individuals were successfully prosecuted.

According to TyreSafe, it is a worrying development that so many vehicle owners are neglecting basic safety checks such as examining the state of their tyres prior to embarking on a journey.

Stuart Jackson, chairman of vehicle safety organisation TyreSafe, commented: "Regular checks which only take a few minutes to complete should be made at least once a month, yet it's clear from these latest figures that many drivers are simply not taking these precautions, risking not only prosecution through the courts but more importantly, their safety on the road."

He added awareness therefore needs to be raised concerning the importance of tyre safety in the UK.

Companies wishing to ensure their fleets remain roadworthy should remember the importance of regular tyre checks, with examiners looking for rips, tears or bulges in the tyre's surface, as well as issues of excessive wear and under-inflation.

The legal limit for tyre tread depth currently stands at 1.6 mm, as below this level there could be issues in terms of reduced grip and unresponsive handling. Furthermore, a lack of tread can increase the risk of a tyre failing – an issue that can be extremely dangerous should a blowout occur when a vehicle is travelling at speed.

An easy method for checking the depth of a tyre's tread is to insert a 20p piece into the grooves of the tread and if the outer band of the coin is obscured then the tyre remains legal to use.

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Posted by Jamie Burton, Account Manager, The Fuelcard People.