Minimum tyre tread depths: tyre makers in safety row ~ station of gear

Michelin opposes a UK minimum tyre tread depth law change, claiming 1.6mm depth is ‘safe’. Others disagree

2016-10-13 11:30

Michelin has said the tyre industry’s plans to raise the minimum legal car tyre tread depth from 1.6mm to as high as 3mm or 4mm are wasteful and maintains that the current limit is perfectly safe.

Some rival manufacturers want to change the EU laws in the name of safety as early as 2018, but Michelin claims this would be “unnecessary”. Speaking to Auto Express, Michelin technical manager Jamie McWhir emphasised that well manufactured tyres are built to “guarantee maximum effectiveness right down to 1.6mm”.

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Michelin says no link exists between cars with less than 4mm tread left and a rise in accidents. With premium tyres, McWhir adds, differences in performance between 1.6mm and new tyres are “minimal”. But he also pointed out that in recent years tyres have entered the market designed to perform well in test conditions, but not in real-world driving. He said: “Some of these tyres, when they go below three or four millimetres, their performance drops by up to 30 per cent.”

Rather than seeing laws changed, McWhir said that he would prefer to see better manufacturing from some rivals. Michelin claims a premium tyre with 1.6mm of tread can be safer than a new budget tyre.

Changing the law would also cost car owners more and raise pollution levels, according to McWhir. “A new tyre will come with around 7.6mm of tread; at three millimetres it will still have 25 per cent of its life left. This would equate to roughly an extra tyre per car every two years.”

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Michelin also says that replacing tyres prematurely would see fuel consumption rise by 900 million litres annually in Europe. (The lower the tread depth, the more fuel efficient the tyre.) McWhir added: “This [changing the law] is unnecessary and the opposite of what we should be doing.”

Opinion by Kim Adams, Auto Express products editor

“I just can’t agree with Michelin’s stance. I’ve conducted exhaustive tests, measuring cars’ braking distances in the wet on tyres with 8, 3, and 1.6mm tread depths. The 1.6mm tyres took much longer to stop.

“As soon as you hit the brakes on the new tyre you could feel the deceleration. Doing the same with the tread on the legal minimum, there were several metres when the car skated over the water before they gripped and started to slow like the 8mm tyre. Admittedly I wasn’t using Michelin tyres – but they were from a premium rival. And the results were similar in cornering tests.

“Regardless of the maker, I’m convinced part-worn tyres perform much better in the wet than ones on the legal limit. Whether that requires a law change is another matter. Informing drivers of the risks they run when using tyres close to the legal limit is key. It is also vital they know which tyres perform best in the wet – which is why we have done more tyre tests than any UK title.”

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One-third of all UK tyres are illegal

Nearly a third of all tyres in the UK are currently illegal, new research has revealed. Road safety charity TyreSafe found that more than 10 million tyres are illegal – either below the 1.6mm minimum tread depth or defective with bulges and tears.

Bristol was found to be the worst city for tyre safety. TyreSafe’s research revealed almost a half of all tyres in Bristol are illegal, far above the UK average of 29.9 per cent.

The north-west of England was found to be the worst regional area – nearly a third of all tyres were illegal. Greater London bucked the trend with just 13.8 per cent.

The data also revealed Northern Ireland has the highest national share of dodgy tyres, on 36.5 per cent. TyreSafe chairman Stuart Jackson said: “Well maintained tyres significantly reduce the risk of being involved in an accident.”

Hotspots for illegal tyres revealed

Illegal tyres by city
Bristol	46.20%
Birmingham	42.00%
Manchester	35.40%
Cardiff	31.80%
Cambridge	29.50%
Liverpool	26.00%
Leeds	24.40%
Newcastle-upon- Tyne	21.40%
Edinburgh	20.60%
Greater London	13.80%

Region	Share of illegal tyres
Northern Ireland	36.50%
North West England	31.20%
South West England	29.80%
Wales	29.10%
Scotland	27.40%
South East England	27.30%
Midlands	26.90%
England (total)	26.80%
North East England	25.80%
East England	14.40%
Greater London	13.80%

(Data provided by TyreSafe)

Tyre fines on the up

The number of motorists given penalty points for driving on defective or worn tyres has gone up by 40 per cent since 2013, new research shows.

Analysis by tyre retailer Kwik Fit found the overwhelming majority of points issued in 2015 were for drivers with tread levels below 1.6mm. But a worrying 26 per cent also got points for driving on tyres that had worn down to the cord – far below the 1.6mm minimum legal level.

Do you think the legal tyre tread depth of 1.6mm is okay? Let us know below...

Martin Saarinen

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