Michelin rejects calls for increase of minimum tyre tread depth
Manufacturer has said there is no reason to increase legal tread depths from 1.6mm to 3mm
Michelin has called plans to increase the minimum legal tyre tread depth ‘unnecessary’ and claimed it would cost motorists £6.9 billion a year.
The tyre manufacturer has rejected calls to increase the minimum tread depth from 1.6mm to 3mm, claiming that it would cost motorists more money and increase carbon emissions.
Michelin commissioned a report, conducted by Ernst & Young, which found that if drivers had to change tyres at 3mm rather than 1.6mm, it would cost the European Union an extra £6.9 billion a year in additional fuel consumption and tyre purchases.
Changing tyres, according to the manufacturer, would result in 128 million additional tyres being used a year in Europe, creating nine million tonnes of additional CO2 each year.
Michelin believes that changing tyres early does not guarantee greater safety, as no current studies have established a link between accident levels and a tyre’s tread depth.
Jamie McWhir, Michelin technical manager in the UK and Ireland, said: “We don’t think it’s right that UK motorists are being encouraged by some parts of the industry to change at 3mm – it’s unnecessary and it costs them a lot of money in new tyres and fuel consumption.
“Drivers in the UK should be aware that it is entirely possible to make tyres that perform very well down to 1.6mm. Safety at 1.6mm is about tyre performance in the wet, and that is what should be measured – not tread depth. It is the testing regime that needs changing, not the tread depth at which tyres are changed.”
