Your tyres are the only thing keeping your vehicle on the road is the message from Tipperary Gardaí.
Temperatures dipped as low as minus 5 in places overnight with a yellow warning for ice and low temperatures is in effect in Tipperary this morning.
It’s in place across the country until 11 o’clock.
With poor driving conditions likely for the coming weeks due to low temperatures, rain or wind it’s vital that your car is in roadworthy condition.
Sgt Carol O’Leary from Cahir Garda station says the few minutes it takes to check your tyres could save your life.
“I would encourage people to take the ten minutes to have a look at the tyres – if you’re not confident yourself go to a garage or go to a tyre shop across the county.
“Get your tyres checked – they’re the only contact your car has with the ground in this type of weather – for the next few months now we’re looking at frosty, icy, black-ice, shockingly cold road conditions so get them checked.
The minimum legal thread depth is 1.6 millimetres – anything below that is an offence.
However Sgt O’Leary says penalty points could be the least of your worries in the event of an accident due to worn tyres.
“Don’t forget to check the spare tyre as well. A lot of people will forget that – it also needs to be roadworthy with the correct (thread) depth. Again it is an offence but more importantly it’s for safety reasons we would encourage people to check their tyres.”
