Tyre Safety Month 2023 – Rogues Gallery

Article written by Bush Tyres

This month is Tyre Safety month, so alongside the TyreSafe.org “Be Safe and Save” campaign, we wanted to show you some of the dangerous tyres that we have seen. Check out some of the defective tyres we have seen in branches and what to look out for in our “rogues gallery.”

Tyre Safety Month 2023

October 2023 is Tyre safety month, here is some examples of the “Horror tyres” we have seen in our “Rogues Gallery”. See some of the bad examples for yourself and what to look out for on your own tyres. Next week, we will be offering some practical advice on how you can avoid this happening, along with some simple checks you can do yourself to help keep you safe on the roads.

Underinflation / Overinflation

Over or under inflated or not checked regularly, this can lead to uneven tyre wear. The tyres will reach the end of their usable life well before they should. The image shows the effect of both.

Underinflation can cause wear to both edges of the tyres, resulting in loss of valuable tread, costing you more money in the long run. Underinflated tyres also cause irregular handling and can lead to longer braking distances.

Over inflated tyres reduce the contact patch with the road. The tyre again wears long before it was intended, shortening its usable life, and wasting valuable tread. Overinflated tyres do not grip as well, they are not able to shed water as effectively. This could lead to aquaplaning and also extended braking distances and dangerous handling characteristics.

We recommend getting your tyres checked for early signs of incorrect pressure. Set your pressures correctly at least once a month, or before any extended journey.

Image source: www.herbchambersmercedesbenz.com

Wheel Alignment

The next most common reason for uneven tyre wear is incorrect wheel alignment. The tyres pictured below are all examples from our own depots. Some have been worn well past the 1.6mm legal limit. The particularly scary ones are the extreme “inner edge wear” examples.

Many people who check their tyres fail to look at the inner edge properly. Whenever you are washing your car, if you can park the car in full lock, you can get a good look at the whole tyre – including that elusive inner edge.

We can carry out these checks for you in any one of local depots completely FREE of charge. Our trained technicians can also check your alignment. This will help prevent your new tyres meeting the same early fate.

The cost of alignment adjustment is more than recovered over the newly extended life of the tyre. Not to mention the fuel savings you will also benefit from. Saving you money and keeping you safe from any unexpected fines, or worse, a serious incident can be avoided from dangerously worn tyres like these.

Impact damage

These types of failure are thankfully less common. In extreme cases, after an impact with an object, or a pothole, the entire structure of the tyre can fail. This results in what is more commonly referred to as a “blow out.” Complete separation of the sidewall is uncommon but can happen.

To avoid this, check your pressures, condition, and ages of your tyres regularly. Along with regular wheel alignment checks, Bush Tyres can make sure to reduce the risk of you getting stuck with an avoidable and costly repair by taking advantage of our FREE tyre checks regularly.

Tyre Age- DOT code

The age of a tyre is determined by the DOT code stamped on the sidewall of new tyres at the factory. The four-digit number represents the “week number,” and the year of production. (ie. 1016 -would be week 10 of 2016 – making the tyre approximately 7 years old at the time of writing). This example shows a tyre that deteriorated that badly the tread completedly separated from the main body of the tyre.

Dangers of Part Worn Tyres

This customer visited Grimsby branch for what they thought was just a wheel balancing problem. After having part worn tyres fitted elsewhere, one tyre was fitted the wrong way around to try and hide the extreme perishing and age of the tyre (2016- 7 years!).

The second tyre had been badly repaired after being run under inflated causing the structure of the tyre to breakdown. This could have resulted in a nasty blow out and would have been difficult to control.

Two new economy tyres fitted with our accidental damage cover will now keep this customer safe from other potential problems.

Avoid getting caught out with illegal or unsafe tyres. Call in to any of our local depots for a FREE Tyre Safety check today.

Next week’s we will show you some of the checks that we do and help you with some tyre checks you can do yourself. Drop in to one of our local depots for a FREE check.

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To find out more about Tyre Safety Month 2023 visit tyresafe.org