In the United Kingdom, the law requires that your vehicle is properly fitted with the correct type and size of tyre for the type of vehicle you are driving and for the purpose it is being used. Therefore making sure that tyres are properly inflated and fitted accordiing to the manufacturer’s pressure requirements is required for safety and the law.

The required legal limit is a minimum depth of the tread of 1.6 millimetres, across the centre of ¾ of tread around the complete circumference of the tyre.

For safety reasons it is best that you replace your tyres before the legal limit is reached. Several vehicle manufacturers recommend replacing at 3 millimetres. However its widely reported at 1.6 millimetres in wet weather it can take an extra two car lengths (equivalent to 8 metres) to stop at 50 miles per hour than if your tyre tread was 3 millimetres.

It’s also best to make a regular check of your tyres. This can help you avoid 3 penalty points on your driving licence and £2,500 in fines for having worn tyres beyond the legal minimum limit on your vehicle.

It is also a illegal to fit tyres of different construction types to opposite sides of the same axle. Especially the two main tyre types radial and cross-ply must not be mixed on the same axle.

You can mix brands and patterns of the same construction type is allowed depending on the type of vehicle and manufacturers recommendation. Please ensure to check your vehicle’s handbook for tyre fitment details and options or ask Kwik Fit to look this up for you.