Semperit wants tread depth increase for safer motoring

A leading manufacturer has claimed that the legal minimum tread depth for tyres in Ireland is unsafe and inadequate.

Tyre manufacturer Semperit says the minimum legal requirement of 1.6 mm should be replaced with a 3 mm threshold.

Semperit and other tyre manufacturers in the UK have commissioned independent research on the effects of tyre tread depth on straight line braking and cornering in wet conditions.

The research concludes that the stopping distance of car travelling at 50 mph with tyres with just 1.6mm of tread increased by 37 per cent when compared with new tyres with a tread depth of 6.7 mm. The increase represents a distance of 8.8 metres or twice the length of the average car.

Paddy Murphy, head of sales at Semperit Ireland, estimates than 200,000 cars in Ireland are running on tyres below the 1.6mm limit.