Tyre Safety Checks at Asda Rooley Lane, Bradford
Three in four cars checked at a free tyre safety event in Bradford on 15 October 2026 had at least one tyre that needed attention. Two had illegal tread, and one was running on a completely flat tyre.
The event
City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council organised a road safety event in the car park of Asda Rooley Lane, Bradford, offering free checks to shoppers. TyreSafe and National Highways carried out the tyre checks. Good Egg Safety provided free child car seat checks alongside them.
The tyre team concentrated on pressures this time. They measured each tyre and compared the reading with the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended pressure on the door or fuel-flap placard wherever it could be found. Tread depth was measured at three points across each tyre, and the date code was read to find the tyre’s age.
A tyre was given an advisory if it had 3mm of tread or less, was more than 10% away from the recommended pressure or from the tyre on the other side of the same axle, or was over 10 years old. Tread at 1.6mm or less was recorded as illegal.
What we found
Tyre pressure was by far the most common problem: more than two thirds of the cars had at least one tyre at the wrong pressure.
| Result | Number (28 cars, 112 tyres checked) |
| Cars with at least one tyre needing attention | 21 (75%) |
| Cars with a tyre pressure problem | 19 (68%) |
| Tyres more than 10% away from the recommended pressure | 36 of 84 (43%), mostly under-inflated |
| Cars with uneven pressures across an axle | 15 (54%) |
| Cars with an illegal tyre | 2 (7%) |
| Tyres with 3mm of tread or less | 14 (12.5%) |
| Tyres more than 10 years old | 9, on 7 cars |
Under-inflated tyres outnumbered over-inflated ones by more than two to one. Twelve tyres were more than 20% below the recommended pressure.
Behind the numbers
Newer cars were no better. Cars under 10 years old had pressure problems as often as older ones. Most modern cars have a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), but these typically only warn when a tyre has lost around 20–25% of its pressure. A 2023 car had three tyres 12% under-inflated with no warning showing.
One pressure for every tyre. Several drivers had put the same pressure in all four tyres, even though their car’s placard gives different figures for the front and rear. This suggests many people use a habit number or a forecourt default rather than checking the placard.
Problems in both directions. One car’s front tyres were at 55 PSI against a recommended 32 PSI, more than 70% over-inflated. Another had a front tyre at 15 PSI against a recommended 36 PSI. One car was being driven on a completely flat tyre.
Pressure shows up in the tread. One under-inflated car had worn the outer shoulders of both front tyres down to 2.6mm. Other cars showed heavy wear on the inner edge, which usually points to a wheel alignment problem. In the worst case this had taken one tyre down to 0.5mm on its inner edge.
Tyres older than the car. Some cars had tyres fitted that were years older than the vehicle itself, including a 2009 tyre on a 2015 car and a 2010 tyre on a 2021 car. This is a sign of second-hand or part-worn tyres, and age can weaken a tyre even when the tread looks fine.
Damage that can’t wait. The team also found a nail in a tyre’s shoulder, which normally means the tyre can’t be repaired and must be replaced, and cracking in the sidewall of a tyre only five years old.
What every driver can do
TyreSafe recommends checking your tyres at least once a month and before long journeys. Remember A.C.T.:
- Air pressure: check when the tyres are cold, using the pressures in your handbook or on the placard inside the door or fuel flap. Front and rear pressures are often different, and you may need higher pressures when the car is fully loaded.
- Condition: look for cuts, bulges, cracks or objects stuck in the tread, and check how old your tyres are.
- Tread: the legal minimum is 1.6mm across the central three-quarters of the tread, all the way round. You could face a fine of up to £2,500 and three penalty points for each illegal tyre.
Don’t rely on your car’s warning light alone. By the time it comes on, a tyre may already be well below its correct pressure.
Thank you
TyreSafe would like to thank City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council for organising the event, and National Highways and Good Egg Safety for their work on the day. Special thanks go to Asda Rooley Lane, Bradford, for hosting us and supporting road safety in the local community.
