Young drivers at risk from poor tyre care

YOUNG DRIVERS are putting their lives at risk by not looking after their cars’ tyres. A survey by Tyresafe and insurer Ingenie has found that more than a third of young drivers aged 18-25-years old had never checked their tyres for tread depth and a quarter had not checked the tyres on their car for correct pressure ever.

The survey found that better education is needed to tell young drivers of the important of looking after the tyres on their car. When asked, 85% of young drivers said they did not know they could receive a fine of up to £2500 for driving with tyres that were worn beyond the legal minimum tread depth of 1.6mm.

An illegal tyre can also earn the driver three penalty points, so two worn tyres could see a young driver banned from driving as they only need to accrue six penalty points before having their licence revoked.

‘Regular basic tyre maintenance is a critical element of being a safe and responsible driver, yet these latest findings would suggest that this message is being lost on young drivers today,’ comments Stuart Jackson, chairman, TyreSafe. ‘We saw an increase last year in the number of tyre related road casualties and if we fail to take immediate action in educating young drivers about the need to look after their tyres properly, sadly we can only expect to see this figure rise further.’

Richard King, founder and CEO of Ingenie added: ‘With almost half of young drivers never having been shown how to check the condition of their tyres, it’s clear that we need to do more to ensure they have the right knowledge in this area. At Ingenie we’re all about helping young people save on their insurance by driving safely, so launching this video in partnership with TyreSafe continues our commitment to helping young drivers stay safe on the road.’

By Press Association reporters