More than 2.2 million cars failed their annual MOT test in the UK in 2013 because of the state of their tyres, data supplied by the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency confirms

“It beggars belief that so many motorists can fail their MOT because of unsafe or illegal tyres,” comments Stuart Jackson, chairman, TyreSafe. “Your safety on the road is totally dependent upon the condition of your tyres so it’s vital that you check these regularly throughout the year, let alone just before you take your MOT. Furthermore, they are also one of the easiest items on your car to check, so there really is no excuse for this amount of tyre related failures.”

Reinforcing the scale of the problem of dangerous and illegal tyres, recent figures released by the Department for Transport showed that more than 968 road casualties were caused in the UK in 2013 because of an accident involving illegal, defective or under-inflated tyres.