Drivers urged to do 20p car hack that could stop a £10,000 fine
Drivers are being urged to carry out a simple car hack to stop themselves being fined up to £10,000 for breaking the law.
Every year our cars have to pass an MOT to make sure they are road worthy and road safe.
We're talking about checking things like making sure the wipers work properly, the lights turn on, the horn works and the break pads have enough left on them.
One in five cars failed their MOT in 2023. It's important to keep on top of what are a lot of basic vehicle checks to stop yourself from needing to fork out for a re-test.
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One of the biggest reasons people fail their MOT is to do with their tyres. And it's something that can cost you £10,000 in fines if you're stopped for this while out on the roads.
Thankfully, there's an easy way to check if you need to fix this issue. Let's explain:
Why will I fail my MOT due to my car tyres?
It's all to do with the depth of the tread on the tyres themselves.
They're not just there to add a snazzy groove to the tyres. No, they have a really important safety reason.
And the thinner the tread, the more at risk you are of not being able to stop in time should there be an accident.
Across the UK, the minimum legal tyre tread depth is 1.6 millimetres. When you get new tyres they usually have 5mm on them, meaning they should last for a good amount of driving until they need replacing.
Why will I be fined £10,000 for tyre tread issues?
The minimum tread for your tyres is 1.6mm across the UK and Europe.
Despite this, you're often told to replace them when you get under the 3mm mark. You wont fail your MOT, but you will be advised to get them looked at sooner rather than later. Tests by UK technical organisation MIRA found that, once tyres are below 3mm, stopping distances increase dramatically.
The RAC explains: "The difference in wet braking distance between a tyre worn to 3mm and one worn to 1.6mm can be as much as 44 percent. Worn tyres are particularly dangerous in the wet because a tyre’s tread helps disperse water away from the contact patch between tyre and road.
"If there’s less tread depth, less water can be shifted, increasing the risk of aquaplaning and losing grip. In heavy rain, each tyre can shift one gallon of water every second, illustrating just how hard tyres work.
"Simply put, deeper tread means they can work better, improving grip."
If you get stopped on the roads with tyres below the 1.6mm tread mark, you're going to be fined £2,500 per tyre. That's where the £10k figure comes from.
You could also lose your licence in this instance and spend the day in court as a result of the stoppage and circumstance surrounding it.
To make matters worse, if you crash with illegal tyres your insurance claim could be invalidated.
Check your tyre tread depth with the 20p car hack
The simplest and cheapest way to check your tyre tread depth is with a 20 pence piece.
And anyone can do it. Simply take the coin and insert it in to the groove of the tread on the tyres.
If you cannot see the outer band of the 20p coin, the tyre is road legal. If you see it, you're need to get it checked by a mechanic as soon as possible.
"We suggest drivers conduct the 20p test around every two weeks and before long journeys," the RAC says.
Tom Earnshaw