Increased tyre depths 'could reduce road crashes'

Existing legal requirements for car tyres are not sufficient to stop them from skidding in the rain, according to a study by Semperit Ireland.

The company says the current minimum tread depth of 1.6mm allows a vehicle to skid up to 44 metres in wet weather.

It says more than 40% of all accidents involve skidding and the number of crashes could be significantly reduced by simply increasing tread depths to 3mm.