Review of tyre tread depth of emergency vehicles should be extended to all vehicles

The Irish Tyre Industry (ITIA) has noted the verdict in the inquest into the tragic death of Ms. Mary Seavers. The Association is hoping that some good will result from this unfortunate case and we welcome the recommendation of the jury that there should be a review of the legal minimum tyre tread depth for all emergency vehicles.

However, in the interests of public safety, we would ask why just apply this review to emergency vehicles? If the jury has found that the 1.6mm legal tread depth on the Garda car was unsafe, is it not also unsafe for all vehicles on our roads?

As recently as last October, members of the ITIA met with the Department of Transport to highlight the findings of recent comprehensive industry tests in the wet which have shown that the performance level of a tyre seriously deteriorates once the thread depth falls below 3mm. The independent tests (carried out by the Motor Industry Research Association in the UK) showed that tyres with the legal tread of 1.6mm had an 80 percent deterioration in braking performance in comparison with new tyres. Tyres with a tread depth of 3mm had a 25 per cent better braking performance than those with the minimum legal tread depth of 1.6mm.

The ITIA delegation made strong recommendations that the Department of Transport should look at increasing the legal minimum tread depth of 3mm.