What to expect when you drive with bad tyres

I don't know what I would do without our car. I am the sole driver in our family and since passing my test eight or nine years ago, I haven't looked back. Particularly when Ethan came along, our car makes out lives so much easier and I really enjoy being on the road. 

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I used to travel a fair bit for work which I didn't mind - the car can sometimes be the only space I have to myself to think! - but I really don't miss the extra wear on my car that the extra travel used to incur.

Nowadays, my cat takes Ethan to school, hubs to the train station and me to work, then the same in reverse, not to mention weekly shopping trips and visits to friends and family who live further afield every couple of months.

I don't know a great deal about cars, and really I should seeing as my car means so much to me, but I have learnt about the importance of car tyres recently.

I've had a couple of punctures in the past - one when I was four hour's drive away from home - and I have also had to replace my tyres due to general wear and tear. The last time I had to do this was a few moths ago following a service. Two tyres needed to be replaced because the tread had worn down and I just didn't realise what neglecting something as important as this could mean.

Blown away

If your tyres aren't within the guidelines or fit for purpose, you increase your chance of a blow out. This is one of my worst nightmares, as I just wouldn't know what to do and the idea of being shocked by something so sudden really does worry me.

Get a grip

Tyres that are very worn down are also dangerous because they do not have as good a grip on the road as they should - something really worth bearing in mind now the colder weather and darker nights are starting to draw in. Don’t take the risks of using worn out tyres and in case you need new ones you can check with DAT tyres online – for Hertfordshire & other areas.

Fill 'em up

If the above two safety factors aren't enough to make you rush out and check your tyres right now, then perhaps the cost implication will, as neglected tyres can increase fuel consumption as your car works harder.

A fine state to be in

Carrying on with the money theme, did you know that if your tyre tread depth is found to be under the minimum mark, you can be fined? So running around on tyres that have been well and truly run into the ground could really cost you in more ways than one.

I've started to regularly check my tyres, walking around the vehicle to make sure they all look ok and we have also purchased an air pump that we keep in the car at all times so we can make sure our tyres have the right pressure. I'm also aware that my rear two tyres may need replacing sometime in the near future, so using a trusty 20 pence coin to check the tread depth is a handy trick worth using every so often. 

No compromise

I'd always rather be safe than sorry and believe that you should never compromise on tyres because it could have serious implications.