New rules on defective tyres - Motorists face new pressures

THE Department of Transport’s new rules for motorists who drive with defective or worn car tyres have now come into force and it is to be hoped that they will help to save lives.

Tyres are a much bigger factor in fatal collisions than previously identified, according to an analysis carried out by the Road Safety Authority.

The RSA found that of the 1,077 people who lost their lives on the roads between 2008 and 2012 around 100 of them did so largely because of defective tyres.