MORE than half of motorists can’t remember the last time they checked their tyres and a third had no idea what the correct pressure was for their car types.

Those were the results of research undertaken by the RAC Foundation in the run-up to the launch of the Tyre Industry Council’s Tyre Safety Campaign.

Welcoming the campaign, Kevin Delaney, RAC Foundation’s Head of Traffic and Road Safety commented: "Tyres can play a significant and sometimes even lethal part in road traffic collisions.

"Their condition can, in some circumstances, mean the difference in life and death of a driver and his passengers."

The amount of tyre in contact with the road at any time is no greater than a human footprint.

Tyres worn below 2mm are less likely to be able to maintain contact with a wet road and are more likely to aquaplane in heavy rain.

At 1.6mm of tread, a tyre is much more likely to puncture as pieces of broken glass, nails, tacks or other debris come into contact with it.

Other tyre facts include:

* There may be as many as six million illegal tyres (less than 1.6mm depth) on Britain’s cars;
* As many as one in four motorists interviewed admitted they may have a defective tyre as a spare;
* Tyres are an essential part of a vehicle’s suspension, absorbing road shock. Worn sidewalls can badly affect road holding and are more likely to 'blow out'. In addition excessively high or low tyre pressures, or uneven pressures on the same axle, can badly affect road holding.