Protyre News

If you’re not aware of the dangers of part worn tyres, you need to be. Why? Because it could save not just your life, but that of any passengers you may have in your vehicle, as well as fellow road users.

The unfortunate truth is that while many UK drivers are aware that part worn tyres are available to buy, only a tiny fraction are aware that they pose a serious threat to driver safety. In an age when driving is going digital this fact is underlined in Google search engine query stats. These clearly show a huge discrepancy between searches for part worn tyre purchasing enquiries, and those associated with the dangers – more than 10,000 to one.

So what exactly are the dangers of part worns?

Simply put, in the view of tyre manufacturers, retailers (including Protyre), independent tyre testers, leading motoring organisations, and driving safety charities and NGOs, part worns are not fit for purpose. Why? Because, as the name suggests, part worn tyres are already severely degraded to way below their original optimum quality by the time their new owner has them fitted to their vehicle. At best, part worns are only part safe – and who wants to drive on bad tyres, knowing they’re at increased risk of having an accident?

When you fit a set of brand new premium tyres, like those made by Continental, they come with a full 8 mm of tread. By comparison, the vast overwhelming majority of part worn tyres are resold with just 3 mm of tread depth – the point at which tyre safety experts recommend that drivers remove them from their vehicle and replace with new ones.

Worse still, many part worns are sold with even less tread – anything down to the UK road legal minimum of 1.6 mm. Shockingly, there have even been cases of part worn tyres sold with less tread depth than even this. Good tyre tread depth is vital for the generation of grip you need to drive safely, especially when the surface is wet – something we get a lot of on UK roads.

Part worn tyres are often sold substantially damaged too

And it gets far, far worse. Part worn tyres are very often sold with tyre damage that further increases the possiblility of having an accident if fitted to your car. Tears, cuts, nicks, bubbles or bulges can severely compromise the integrity of the sidewall – vital for maintaining the vertical strength of the tyre, since it’s this part of the tyre that absorbs so much of the stresses are generated while driving.

Nails, glass and other sharp objects are often found in part worns too, increasing the chance of puncture or worse, tyre blow-out. If you’re travelling at high speed and have part worns fitted, the consequences could be fatal.

Part worn tyres are not worth the risk - Get a new set of tyres at Protyre!

Independent research by UK tyre charity TyreSafe shows that many part worns are sold with this kind of tyre damage. One of their most recent investigations into the selling of part worns – in conjunction with the BBC – demonstrated that only two of ten tyres sold were done so legally – with eight out of the ten being tyres either unroadworthy or incorrectly stamped – or both – as required by law.

This isn’t a one off situation. TyreSafe – of which both Continental and Protyre are leading members – have previously undertaken many other investigations into part worns, including with the Trading Standards Authority. We can say – as a member of TyreSafe, and with complete authority and industry expertise – that TyreSafe’s tireless work to better protect UK drivers from the perils of part worns is vital for all of our safety on the road.

Fitting new premium tyres makes sense

New premium tyres – like Continental’s award winners – offer drivers the best performance and safety characteristics. There’s simply no comparison to, or redeeming features with part worn tyres. Even their too good to be true cheap price is a false economy – you only have to replace them sooner, since they’re already so worn down when fitted a second time that they don’t last long. And that’s assuming they don’t cause you to have an accident first!

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Fitting part worns is akin to throwing your money down the drain, and if you do so more than once, chucking good money after bad. It makes much more sense to invest in a high quality premium tyre in the first place, and enjoy the superior performance, handling and safety characteristics that they deliver. Simply put, part worn tyres should be avoided. Period.