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Back to Motoring news

Motoring news

Poor tyres 'risk motorist lives'

30/09/2008

Badly maintained tyres contributed to the death of 43 motorists in 2007, an industry body has warned.

And illegal, defective or under-inflated tyres contributed to a further 984 accidents, it stressed.

The warning, from tyre industry safety group TyreSafe, highlights figures from Government road casualty statistics released last week. It comes ahead of the launch of Tyre Safety Month, which runs during October.

Figures from VOSA, the Government agency responsible for MOT testing, reveal that in 2006/7, tyre defects caused 11% of MOT failures. This increased to 14% in 2007/8, accounting for a total of 1.1 million failures.

TyreSafe chairman Rob Beddis explained that simple, regular checks on tyre pressure, tread depth and tyre condition could help motorists avoid MOT failures and accidents.

"Under-inflated tyres can cause dramatic changes in the way a vehicle handles and corners, resulting in surprise and confusion for drivers which often results in accidents."

He added that under-inflated tyres could also add to the cost of motoring. "Tyres wear out more quickly and fuel consumption increases adding further burden to motorists already struggling with high fuel prices."