FEWER than 10 per cent of motorists in London and the South East know the basic facts about tyre safety, according to new research conducted on behalf of AA Tyre Fit.

Only nine per cent of 500 drivers surveyed were aware that the minimum legal tread depth is 1.6mm and a further nine per cent believed that their tyres were still safe below this level.

Just 10 per cent checked their tyres once a fortnight as recommended and 19 per cent checked them less than once a month. Reasons given for not checking included laziness and that they were checked when the car was serviced.

Out of those who did not check their tyres, 29 per cent admitted that they did not know how to although, overall, 93 per cent said that they would change their tyres immediately if told they were illegal or unsafe.

The younger the driver, the worse was their knowledge of tyre safety, with the 17-24 age group being the least likely to check their tyres and also the least aware of the effects of over and under-inflation on tyre performance.

AA Tyre Fit general manager David Goodyear says: “These results are worrying. Tyres in poor condition result in dramatically increased stopping distances in wet and icy conditions and much poorer handling. Drivers who do not check their tyres are putting themselves and other road users at risk. The lack of awareness exhibited suggests that a major campaign is needed, especially among younger drivers, to get across the message that checking tyres regularly is an essential task for anyone running a car.”

Goodyear adds that often when AA Tyre Fit mobile tyre fitters go out to replace tyres for customers they are well below the legal limit.