Fact...
Recent independent research by the Motor Industry Research Association has produced some new findings on stopping distances. The findings proved that a car travelling at 50mph on tyres with the legal minimum tread of 1.6mm will take more than 40% more distance to stop in the wet than a car fitted with new tyres with a depth of 6.7mm.

The tests also showed that there was little difference in braking performance between 6.7mm and 4mm but there was a severe drop in stopping power when the tread depth fell below 3.5mm.

The tests were carried out using three different kinds of vehicles, a sports saloon, an executive saloon and a people carrier, which were all fitted with different tyre sizes.

UK tyre experts feel that the UK legal tyre minimum should be 3mm, but the Government will not change the current legislation from 1.6mm.