Warning penalty-point offences for dangerous tyres ‘are not being enforced’

A “cursory” look at the statistics shows that hundreds of thousands of licence-holders have been caught for speeding or mobile phone use, according to an analysis of the data. But the number of tyre-related penalty points is “barely in the hundreds”.

The claims are made by Tom Dennigan, of Continental Tyres Ireland.

On the face of it, the allegations can be dismissed as a tyre-maker trying to create more sales by getting people to change their tyres more often.

But it should be recognised that Mr Dennigan works closely with road safety organisations to attempt to lower the volume of incidents leading to death and injuries insofar as tyres are concerned.

He is convinced that poor and dangerous tyres are at least partly to blame for a relatively high number of accidents and that we need greater enforcement of the penalty-point system to help reduce the volume.

To that end, he asked: “Has any motorist in Ireland ever seen a roadside garda checkpoint assessing the state of tyres on vehicles?

“The truth is that the penalty-point offences for dangerous or defective tyres are not being enforced.”

When contacted by Independent Motors, the Garda Press Office said: “An Garda Síochána does not comment on third-party statements.”

Statistics for the total count of fixed-charge penalty notices issued for all tyre-related offences are as follows: 1,967 in 2022; 1,839 in 2023; and 1,029 so far this year.

Many surveys show that the majority of motorists neglect their tyres, with some finding that as many as one-in-eight motorists never check theirs.

However, over the last 10 years, legislators have attempted to redress the balance in terms of improving tyre care and safety.

A major step was the introduction of tyre-related penalty points in 2016.

More recently, the National Car Test (NCT) has introduced a “dangerous fault” classification, targeting any vehicle presented with excessively worn, or defective, tyres.

But it seems that despite the increased focus, “a significant number of Irish motorists are still extremely negligent”, according to Mr Dennigan.

He cited surveys at tyre depots that showed, in some cases, 50pc of customers who pulled in to have theirs checked were found to have cars with “worn and dangerously defective” tyres.

Mr Dennigan said: “Seeing with my own eyes the state of tyres on cars that five minutes earlier were on roads and motorways across the country, I have no doubt that damaged or dangerously worn tyres are a key factor in many road traffic collisions on Irish roads.”

He appealed to motorists to get more proactive when it comes to looking after their tyres.

“Think about it. Good premium tyres are the product of years of research and development and are designed to stop your car safely,” he said.

“However, like any piece of high-tech equipment, they are subject to wear and tear.

“They need to be replaced when they become damaged or overly worn.

“A high number of motorists do not give their tyres a second thought.”

He admits that his industry, which works with road safety organisations, needs to work harder in getting the message across.

As part of the garda response to our query, they included the following practical measures in helping to help maintain tyre safety:

l The minimum legal tread depth for a car is 1.6mm. However, we recommend that you consider replacing them as soon as they are below 3mm. There is 8mm of tread on a new tyre. The legal limit for motorcycles is 1mm.

l Keep note of the tyre pressure as written in the owner’s hand manual or fuel cap.

l Watch out for cuts, cracks and sidewall damage or bulges.

l Always check the spare tyre to ensure it is ready for use and check that your tyres are the right kind and size for your vehicle.