Motor Industry News

OCTOBER is Tyre Safety Month and when there are over 145 million tyres in use on vehicles UK wide there has never been a better time for promoting the need for special care and consideration of the quality and condition of the tyres on your vehicle. And while mycarcheck.com can check a lot of things about your car they can't check the tyres - that is up to you. 2.3 MILLION vehicles failed their MoT tests in 2009/10 because of defective tyres. Defective or badly worn vehicle tyres are a contributory factor in many road accidents, particularly in the wet and a tyre bow-out can cause serious injury to the people in the car AND to people unfortunate enough to be nearby when it happens. There are many warning signs that could point to the tyres of your vehicle being defective or faulty. If the tread is very low, the tyre could become very vulnerable and susceptible to blow-out. A nail or other obstruction on the road could cause the tyre to explode and you could lose control of your vehicle and be seriously injured in an accident. One other sign of faulty tyres is very low air pressure in the tyre or poor installation. Injuries resulting from accidents caused by faulty tyres/tyre blow-outs include:

Head or Brain Injuries 每 including concussions, traumatic brain injuries, facial bruising or fracturing of the facial bones

Neck Injuries 每 such as broken or fractured neck, whiplash, injuries to vertebrae in the neck

Leg Injuries 每 including broken or fractured bones, ligament injuries, severe knee injuries, sprained or dislocated knee joints

Back Injuries 每 including spinal cord injuries such as slipped or bulging discs, herniated discs, broken or fractured spinal cord

Shoulder or Arm Injuries 每 including broken arms, broken shoulders, dislocated shoulder

Tyre blow-outs could be very dangerous not only for the driver of the vehicle but even for pedestrians along roads and pavements. A tyre blow-out is equivalent to a tyre exploding and breaking apart. Debris from the tyre could fly in all directions, potentially injuring you or a loved one on the pavement of a crossing. The Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair helps motorists to identify responsible garages, offers a structured complaints procedure and promotes good customer service at its subscribing garages. They are giving their full backing to Tyre Safety Month. More than 6,200 garages in the UK subscribe to the Code which has completed the first stage of Office of Fair Trading (OFT) code approval and is currently progressing through the further stages of its Consumer Codes Approval Scheme. The Code recommends:

Check tyre pressure and tread monthly.

Remember to check the pressure and condition of the spare tyre.

Examine all tyres for uneven wear.

Make sure the tyre speed rating is suitable for the vehicle.

If in doubt visit a Motor Codes tyre specialist for advice.

The minimum legal tread depth for cars and light vans in the UK is 1.6mm and by ensuring that your tyres are always above that you may well avoid a compensation claim. So, don't forget - once you have checked the history of any car you are thinking of buying with mycarcheck.com, check the tyres before you buy.