CAUTION: Make sure your fleet is tyre-legal
In this week’s Expert Blog, www.vehicleleasingadvice.co.uk – Compass Contract Hire’s leasing advice site – provide a Motor Mistress guide on how to ensure your tyres are roadworthy…
I was stopped the other day by a nice young man who took me to one side and told me (quite nicely) that he was an off-duty policeman.
He also told me that I should get my tyres checked straight away and replaced if necessary.
I was a slightly perturbed by this – the tyres looked OK to me.
I may be Motor Mistress but my skills pretty much stop where anything manual is concerned.
Tyres have always been ‘taken care of’ and – as I have always been lucky enough to drive relatively new cars – to be honest, they never usually cross my mind.
However, not checking your tyres regularly and acting upon any problems that you find could land you in quite a bit of hot water.
Aside from the three points on your licence, having illegal tyres can result into a £2,500 fine: per tyre.
This, in itself, is a very good reason to check your tyres regularly as it will cost you a lot more in the long run than getting them changed in a timely fashion.
My policeman friend actually saved me what I consider to be a great deal more important than a fine or points on my licence – he saved me having a safety issue that could have potentially caused injury.
It turned out that my two rear tyres were literally on the legal limit and I also had a nail in one of them.
With this in mind, check out the guide below to see how you can take the matter into your own hands and avoid any potential pitfalls that having illegal tyres could result in.
Check your tyre pressure
Did you know that maintaining optimum tyre pressure:
- Helps to improve fuel efficiency
- Reduce the possibility of blow-outs
- Improves the life of your tyres by up to 75%
Check your tyre pressure once each month – an easy way to find out your correct tyre pressures is to enter your registration number on www.tyresafe.org.
There is also a handy app.
Then, all you have to do is set yourself a reminder each month to take your readings when you stop and fill-up.
Couldn’t be easier.
Check your tyre depth
Check your tyre depth regularly; the legal limit is 1.6mm but you should always try and ensure that your tyres are above 3mm for optimum safety.
It is easy to check your tyres using a 2p coin; just click here for more information.
Summary
Writing this piece has really opened my eyes; I have control in most areas of my life but, until now, maintaining my car wasn’t one of them.
And actually, I am not proud of this.
Not only have I been inadvertently toying with the safety of myself, my passengers and other road users, I have been risking a very hefty fine.
This may seem a little melodramatic as my tyres weren’t actually illegal but the point is that they were nearly there.
So, from now on I declare that – as an independent woman – I refuse to let it happen again.
I’m taking control of this whole tyre thing and one thing I know is that these days, the internet gives us absolutely no excuse to do anything but.
This Expert Blog was written by Motor Mistress in association with www.best4tyres.com.
