As part of a business-wide focus on road safety, over the next few weeks leading up to our February Road Safety Week, we will be sharing a series of messages around tyre safety.
The aim is to raise awareness of the importance of correct tyre maintenance, the dangers of defective and illegal tyres, the law and Royal Mail policy whether you’re driving a Royal Mail vehicle or your own personal car for work purposes.
All colleagues have a responsibility to drive safely and minimise any risk to themselves and the public. If safety critical parts such as brakes and wheels are not kept in good repair, this could cause drivers to lose control or fail to respond in time in an emergency, with potentially fatal results.
The legal minimum tyre tread depth for cars and vans in the UK and Europe is 1.6mm and 1.0mm for vehicles weighing 3.5 tonnes and above in a continuous band around the central three-quarters of the tyre.
How to check tyre tread depth – the 20p test
- The 20p test is a simple, quick and easy way of checking the tyre tread of your car's wheels.
- Just take a 20p coin and insert it into the tread grooves on the tyre.
- If you can't see the outer band on the coin, your tyres are above the legal limit.
- However, if you can see the band and that section of the coin is still visible, your tyres could be unsafe and require professional inspection by a mechanic.