Half of cars have unsafe tyres, Touring study finds

About half of the cars on Belgium's roads have unsafe tyres, according to a spot check by road association Touring to mark the start of the summer getaway.

The breakdown assistance company checked a sample of 1,100 vehicles in recent weeks - and more than 500 of the vehicles were judged to have tyres with too low a pressure, and 15% of vehicles had worn tyres.

Additionally, 165 vehicles were found to be on the roads with grooves worn beyond the legal standard of 1.6mm.

"Used tyres with insufficient tread depth can be dangerous on wet surfaces due to longer braking distance. They are also usually the cause of tyre failure causing loss of control,” Touring explains.

Low tyre pressure impacts the stability of the car, as well as accounting for an increased fuel consumption of up to 7%.

Touring stated that a dozen of the assessed vehicles were still equipped with winter tyres, which should have been removed by April.

Touring stresses that drivers should have their vehicle regularly inspected, and that a thorough check before using it for a long holiday journey is necessary.