A leading tyre manufacturer has become the latest organisation to slam Government proposals to change MOT testing laws on new cars.
Bridgestone say plans to extend the period which new cars and motorcycles are exempt from MOT testing to four years will add to the death toll on UK roads. A recent Highways Agency check of over 100,000 tyres being used on UK roads found more than a quarter to be below the minimum 1.6mm tread depth, a figure the tyre manufacturer believes will only increase if the Government presses ahead with the proposals.
Industry safety body TyreSafe say the average life of a car tyre is around three years, and in July released figures obtained from the Department of Transport showing tyre defects to be the number one contributor to fatal or serious road traffic accidents.
“We oppose these proposals, as we believe they will lead to an increase in the number of unsafe and illegal vehicles on our roads”, said Bridgestone managing director Robin Shaw.
“The tyre industry spends a great deal of time attempting to educate motorists about checking their tyres more regularly, but we know that one in five drivers have never checked their tyre tread depth. When coupling this with the fact that a tyre often needs replacing within four years due to wear and illegal tread depth, you can see that this Budget proposal could have disastrous consequences, with our roads becoming more dangerous than ever.”
“We firmly believe that the change in law would negatively impact upon the number of road deaths and casualties on our roads each year.”
The Government says the plans, announced in Chancellor George Osborne’s recent budget, will save motorists more than £100 million a year.
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