Tyre Safety Day: Is it time to ‘get a grip’?

Motorists were urged by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) to check their tyres as part of ‘tyre safety day’, which took place on Wednesday 9 th October as part of Irish Road Safety Week. The reminder came from the collaboration with the RSA, An Garda Siochána and the Irish Tyre Industry Association (ITIA). Motorists can call in to any ITIA dealer for a free tyre pressure check and tread depth inspection.Moyagh Murdock, Chief Executive of the RSA, said, “Your tyres are the only point of contact between your car, van, or SUV and the road, and yet their importance to a vehicle’s safety and fuel economy is often overlooked. RSA research shows that there is no component in your vehicle that is as likely to contribute to a crash as your tyres. It was found that tyres were a contributory factor in an average of 14 roads deaths per year.”She added, “Each month 8,500 vehicles are classified as being dangerously defective for ‘Tyre Tread’ and ‘Tyre Condition’ across the NCT and CVRT testing systems. Driving on dangerous or under- inflated tyres puts your life and the lives of other road users at risk so don’t wait until your NCT comes around to check the health of your tyres, get to an ITIA dealer this week.”Assistant Commissioner David Sheahan, National Roads Policing Bureau, An Garda Síochána, said: “Defective tyres are a serious risk to yourself as the driver and your passengers. Gardaí encounter many tragedies on Irish roads and have to deal with people who have suffered serious life changing injuries. Many of these can be avoided if your vehicle is roadworthy and you drive within the speed limit.  Have your tyres checked regularly, reduce your speed and together we can make the roads safer.  Members of the Roads Policing Units across the country will be mounting roadside checks in conjunction with Road Safety Authority Vehicle Inspectors checking tyres on cars, trucks and busesat the roadside on the 9 October 2019. If you are found to be driving a vehicle with defective tyres you could face up to 4 penalty points if convicted and a fixed penalty of up to €120.”