Worn tyres could cost you thousands of pounds

You can be fined up to £2,500, and receive 3 penalty points on your licence, for each tyre that isn't compliant with the law.

Your car’s emergency stopping performance is affected once the tyre tread depth goes below 3mm, especially in wet weather. This is because the grooves in the tyre remove water, reducing your risk of getting into a skid. Worn tyre grooves can’t shift as much water which affects your grip to the road’s surface.

Many people choose to replace their tyres once they go below a tread depth of 3mm. You can quickly check your tyres once per month, using the 2.7mm rim of a 20p coin, to gain extra awareness about when a trip to your local tyre garage makes sense.

It’s also worth doing the 20 pence piece test before taking your car in for its annual MOT. Tyre tread issues are one of the major causes of MOT failures. If your car fails its MOT test you may have to pay to have it re-tested (as well as paying to replace the tyre).

You can be fined up to £2,500, and receive 3 penalty points on your licence, for each tyre that isn’t compliant with the law. This could result in a total fine of up to £10,000 (and the loss of your driving licence) if all four of your car’s tyres are too worn. Getting penalty points could increase the cost of your car insurance in the future, and insurers might even refuse to pay out on an accident claim if your tyres aren’t legal.

For so many important reasons, it’s well worth keeping a spare 20 pence coin in your car and doing a really quick tyre safety inspection every few weeks. As well as helping to keep you and your passengers safe, this simple check could save you lots of money and hassle in the future.