Halfords data reveals UK drivers lack basic tyre safety knowledge

Halfords’ Tyre Safety video game ‘20,000 Miles in Two Minutes’ launched in October for tyre safety month. It was created to test drivers’ knowledge and raise awareness around tyre safety standards. As of today, the game has been played over 7,000 times, revealing the following insight:

• 96% of players drove with low tyre pressure.
• 60% of players drove with tread depth below the legal limit.
• 78% of players were pulled over by the virtual police.
• Drivers underspent on tyres by £83 on average.

New data suggests that drivers may be driving with faulty tyres this winter. 96% of game plays (6699) saw the car driven with tyre pressure below the legal safe limit. The average player drove with low tyre pressure for 18 seconds, proving to be the biggest contributing factor to game losses.

This indicates a serious lack of knowledge around tyre safety, with drivers proving unable to identify the safe low tyre pressure limits. In winter, it’s highly recommended to regularly check tyre pressure as deflated tyres or even a small drop in PSI can make it more difficult to drive on snowy and icy roads.

Additionally, 60% (2615) of players drove with low tyre tread depth. This is extremely dangerous and would be against the UK law, where an average PSI should be between 30-35 and tread depth should be 8-9MM. The real-life consequences of low tread can involve losing control on the road, especially in winter when roads are wet and icy.

Within the game, the virtual police pulled over 78% of players due to them driving below legal safe limits. Could this apparent lack of understanding around tyre safety standards translate into how tyres are used on UK roads?

Halfords Mobile Expert Operations Director, Karl Baker, said, “Keeping tyre tread and pressure at safe levels all year round is crucial both for the safety of drivers and other road users. Our game data indicates that not all drivers know what unsafe legal limits are, which is concerning given that challenging weather conditions are currently limiting drivers’ control over their vehicles.

“To keep UK roads safe, drivers should check their tyres for issues, and resolve them quickly.”