Do you check your car regularly?

Probably not… Most of us don’t! We just get in, start up and head towards our destination without a second thought.

Queensland legislation provides for offences and fines for persons who – use or park or permit the use of a vehicle that is defective or un-road worthy.

For this blog I thought I would concentrate on car tyres. Why focus on car tyres?  Well for one it is the easiest part of the car to check daily, and tyres are arguably a critical component of safe motoring.

What should you look for when you perform a check of your tyres? The following points are the obvious things that trained traffic officers look for when they stop cars.

• Tyre wear is easily missed when inspecting vehicles. Inspect both the inside and outside of the tyre as it is common for tyres to wear on the inside edge.
• Tyres are fitted with a manufacturers tread depth marker. A tyre can be on, or below the marker and still be legal. All passenger vehicles require a minimum tread depth across the surface of the tyre of 1.5 mm to be road worthy. The tyre on the far right would be considered a dangerous defect.
• Wheel nuts should also be checked to ensure that there are none missing.

So if you don’t routinely check your tyres perhaps today is good day to start.

Article provided by Road Policing Unit, Bundaberg (Content courtesy of Senior Constable Condon, Coolum Police)