Healthy tyres prevent road crashes, protect people inside and outside of the vehicle and are a critical component for maintaining a safe vehicle – Brake’s 2025 Road Safety Week theme.
Tyres are the only connection between the vehicle and the road, so for fleet managers across the UK, it is vital they are well maintained for driver safety.
This Road Safety Week, we sat down with the experts from Envoy Tyres – a tyre brand with a relentless focus on driving better value and reliability for everyone – to remind us of three essential tyre maintenance checks that fleet managers should always keep top of mind.
- Check for visible damage
Visible tyre checks should be done at least once a month and become even more important in winter, as the season brings additional challenges on the road. Fleet managers need to check frequently for deformations – cuts, bumps, bulges – and check any found with a tyre professional.
Damage like this can compromise a tyre’s ability to maintain proper contact with the road, leading to reduced grip, as well as an increased risk of blowouts or sudden tyre failure.
- Reviewing tread depth
Driving without sufficient tread depth puts fleet drivers and other motorists on the road in danger. Having the legal depth of tread, which is 1.6mm in the UK, improves grip, handling, and most importantly, safety.
Fleet managers should utilise tyre pressure monitoring systems that measure tread depth, pressure, and weight, but there is also a simple manual check fleet drivers and fleet managers can do to review tread depth frequently.
The 20p test is a simple, quick and easy way of checking tyre tread. Take a 20p coin and insert it into the tread grooves on the tyre. If the outer band of the coin is hidden, your tyres are above the legal limit. If the band is visible, it’s time for some new tyres.
- Tyre choice
Ensuring fleets have the right tyres fitted for the vehicle type and driving habits is essential for safety, performance, and comfort.
The Envoy Vertra tyre
For businesses reliant on the smooth running of light commercial vehicles (LCVs), the Envoy Vertra is a popular choice. The dependable van tyre offers longevity and durability, even under heavy loads and demanding delivery schedules.
The Vertra is a robust commercial van tyre, built to withstand the demands of long days and frequent stopping for deliveries, thanks to design features including:
- Durable construction which offers reliability to keep van fleets on the road, with enhanced strength and performance over long distances.
- High load endurance that is expertly designed to support the needs of commercial vehicles. The reinforced construction is designed to handle the weight and load demands of delivery vans.
- Enhanced wet weather grip, allowing LCVs to drive with confidence in adverse weather. The tyre is designed with three deep circumferential groove channels and sipes for enhanced water dispersion and handling in wet weather conditions, even under heavy loads.
Peter Cross, CEO of Envoy, comments: “The Envoy Vertra is built with the durability, load endurance and wet weather grip that today’s commercial fleets demand. Here at Envoy, we have engineered the Vertra to keep delivery vehicles moving, irrespective of weather conditions.
“We’re proud to provide commercial drivers with reliable, high quality tyre options, with over 180 sizes to choose from.”
