Blunt tyres will mean your car will fail its MOT. However, the real danger of having blunt tyres is that it can cause you to have an accident, possibly causing real harm to yourself, your passengers, and others. Based on the experience of garages and mechanic, it has been noted that a person is more likely to fail their MOT due to tyres not meeting established standards.
What, though, are blunt or bald tyres? The tread built into the rubber is what provides your car with grip. This grip gives you the stability you need when traveling at high speed, or when trying to manoeuvre in a particular direction, either left or right. Without the tyre traction and friction that you gain from the grooves on each wheel’s surface, the power and momentum your car produces, would not only push you forward, but it would easily slip, slide and drift from side to side, giving you very little, to no control at all of your vehicle, and perhaps causing you to spin out of control. When the tread worn the tyre is classed as bald or blunt.
As stated previously, and it need not be really said, that using a car in this state is extremely dangerous and should not be attempted, even if you somehow manage to avoid the MOT restrictions that are put in place. We all have that sigh of relief when out car passes its MOT with flying colours. However, care should be taken when making sure a car is roadworthy. For example, an MOT, as we know, is carried out annually. However, if you detect you have bald tyres beforehand, you should not hesitate to get them changed as soon as possible, to avoid the associated danger of bald tyres, especially when embarking on a long journey, or perhaps driving in inclement weather conditions.
The signs of a blunt tyre may be detected in the way a car responds to the road and when you’re steering. For instance, when you are going round a winding road does it hold well or does it drift? Some drift may occur if you are going too fast, or if your vehicle is heavy or long. However, there should be a reasonable amount of stability when traveling at a reasonable speed for the type of vehicle you are using.
Other blunt tyre signs can be seen when you look over the wheels themselves. Can you see the treads? Or have some of them worn off? Although some signs of blunt tyres or bald tyres are more obvious without the need for measurements, there are some specifications to check and regulations to adhere to. A tyre tread should have grooves that are have a depth of at least 1.6mm or more. That’s any tread that is less than a 2/32 of an inch deep. Mechanics use the tread bar indictors to identify a bald tyre. However, a simpler way to check this is with a 20 pence piece. If any part of the outer edging of the coin design is visible, then this means the tread is not deep enough and, it will not provide adequate traction when it meets the surface of the road.
All sorts of factors can cause a tyre’s tread to wear off or down, and it is only part of the course that this will happen. In fact, no other part of the car is subjected to as much wear and tear as the tyres. Therefore, it makes sense that you should have a tyre provider and fitter that knows what’s needed to keep your car roadworthy for the sake of everyone on the road. For more information, contact us today.
