HC Deb 15 January 1988 vol 125 cc457-8W
Sir Anthony Grant

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what consultations he proposes to hold with the police and motoring organisations concerning the current regulations on tyre treads and the EEC proposed directive thereon; what steps he is taking to assess the effectiveness of current regulations; and if he will make a statement;

(2) if he will introduce legislation to require tyre tread depths on motor vehicles to be a minimum of 1.6 mm over the entire width of the tyre.

Mr. Peter Bottomley

The current regulations on tyre tread depths were made in 1983 and specify 1 mm across three quarters of the width of the tyre with visible tread on the remainder. The regulations were thoroughly reviewed two years ago in consultation with the police, the motoring organisations and other interested parties. This review considered the evidence as regards enforceability and road safety and led to the conclusion that no further changes to the regulations were needed. The commission has not produced new evidence on which it is necessary to have a fresh consultation exercise.

Sir Anthony Grant

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many motor vehicles in each of the last three years failed the MOT test because of unsatisfactory tyres.

Mr. Peter Bottomley

Too many. The most recent figures based on a 2 per cent. sample are as follows:

Year ending December 1984 1985 1986
Total vehicles tested 14,436,650 14,415,266 14,275,118
Total vehicles failed 5,537,505 5,463,946 5,747,102
Total vehicles failed due to defective tyres 1,176,100 1,249,822 1,525,449

Figures for 1987 are not yet available.