October is Tyre Safety Month and motorists on the Isle of Wight will be at the forefront of a campaign by a local garage that aims to take hundreds of dangerous and illegal tyres off the Island’s roads.
Island Tyres, which is located on Newport Road, has joined an ambitious initiative led by Protyre, the UK’s independent tyre fitting network, which aims to perform free safety checks on 200,000 car and van tyres nationwide in the next four weeks.
Tony Reid, manager of Island Tyres, which is part of Protyre, comments:
“Tyre Safety Month is designed to raise awareness of the importance of tyres and we’re taking the lead in promoting this message on the Isle of Wight. As well as providing information and advice, we will also be performing free safety checks throughout October. We expect to be able to check over 2,500 tyres on the Island alone, and bearing in mind official figures suggest one in four tyres in use are already at or below the legal tread limit, that means us potentially taking over 600 dangerous tyres of our local roads.
“We understand tyres are not front of mind for most people, but as the only part of a car in contact with the road’s surface, their condition can mean the difference between stopping in an emergency or having an accident. As we approach winter and the roads become cold and damp, tyres will play an increasingly important role in keeping us safe. Quite simply, a worn tyre has very little grip and is an accident waiting to happen.”
Data collated by TyreSafe, the national tyre safety campaign and promoter of Tyre Safety Month, indicates that approximately one in four cars on the UK’s roads are likely to have at least one tyre at or below the legal tread depth limit of 1.6mm. As well as compromising their vehicles ability to accelerate, corner and brake, an illegal tyre can lead to a £2,500 fine and three penalty points.
Stuart Jackson, TyreSafe chairman, comments:
“TyreSafe applauds Protyre’s ambitious plans to perform 200,000 safety checks during October and is grateful to the team at Island Tyres for supporting Tyre Safety Month so enthusiastically. TyreSafe hopes motorists on the Isle of Wight practise #SafeTyreChecks and ensure they are safe, legal and winter-ready.”
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Motorists wishing to take advantage of the free safety check are welcome to call into Island Tyres at their convenience, or can book an appointment by calling ahead on 01983 401000.
