NOTE: If you are in any doubt – please call our friendly professional team who will happily take a look, completely free and without any obligation!

UK tyre law is pretty simple. Tyres must be the correct size for the vehicle to which they are fitted, and be inflated to manufactures recommended pressure. A tyre should have no splits that expose cords, any bulges or any other side wall damage.

The absolute minimum legal tread depth is 1.6mm across the central three quarters of the face around the entire circumference of the tyre. If you get caught with tyres with a tread depth under 1.6mm you will likely receive at least 3 penalty points per illegal tyre and a fine of up to £2,500.

Whilst you may legally have tyres on your vehicle that are worn down as low as 1.6mm before you absolutely must change them, tyre experts (including our own at Ecotyre Services) strongly recommend changing tyres when they reach no less than 3mm. After this point braking distance begin to dramatically increase. If your tyres are at a 1.6mm tread depth and you are travelling at 50mph, it can take an extra 8 meters to stop when compared to the same vehicle travelling at the same speed, but with tyres with 3mm of tread depth left.

If you are in any doubt at all about the legality of your tyres or have any questions, please feel free to get in touch. One of our trained professionals is able to give you a FREE tyre assessment without any obligation.