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A series of independent tests carried out at the Motor Industry Research Association provides new evidence that with tyres currently in use on British roads the risks of having an accident in the wet rise significantly the lower the tread depth.

The tests were commissioned by the British Rubber Manufacturers' Association (BRMA), representing the major tyre manufacturers supplying tyres into the UK market. They were undertaken on a passenger car tyre typical of those currently in use and involved measuring the stopping distance and cornering performance of five sets of tyres, on two different wet test surfaces. The results of the braking tests showed that significant increases in stopping distances in the wet began to appear below 3.5mm. Compared with the reference tyre with tread at 6.7mm, stopping distance increased by 30% with 3mm of remaining tread and by over 50% with only 1mm. UK legislation requires a minimum of 1.6mm of tread depth.

The findings reinforce the TIC's call to motorists to check the tread depth and pressures on their tyres frequently, at least once per month, and to consider replacing tyres well before they reach the minimum legal tread depth.

The TIC works closely with UK police forces supporting roadside tyre checks, latest figures confirm that 11% of cars and vans on UK roads have at least one defective tyre, a further 11% of vehicles checked had at least one tyre below 2mm.

The Tyre Industry Council is a not-for-profit, non-commercial body, funded by tyre manufacturers and the majority of UK tyre retailers via its Associates programme.  The main, and most successful, activity of the TIC is the roadside tyre check programme, run with the support and assistance of police forces throughout the UK.

These checks have been highly effective in reducing the number of illegal and defective tyres on the UK's roads.  Overall, the percentage of dangerous tyres on UK roads has fallen dramatically, from 17% six years ago, to 11% today.