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How Many People Are Hurt by Defective Tyres Each Year?

Published 5 min read By Live Accident Tracker Editorial

Quick answer: In 2025, 201 people were killed or seriously injured in Great Britain in incidents involving defective tyres — illegal, defective or underinflated tyres — up 19% from 169 in 2024, according to Department for Transport figures published in July 2026. That is 38 more than the five-year average of 163. A worn tyre can add 27 metres to a wet-road stop at 70 mph, and the legal minimum tread depth in the UK is 1.6 mm.

The 2025 figures in full

The figures come from the Department for Transport's Reported Road Casualties Great Britain, Final Results: 2025, as set out by TyreSafe in its table drawn from DfT table RAS0701:

  • 201 people were killed or seriously injured in 2025 in incidents involving defective tyres, up 19% from 169 in 2024.
  • The five-year average for tyre defect killed or seriously injured casualties is 163, up from 150 in the previous period. The 2025 figure of 201 is 38 higher than that average.
  • 667 casualties of all severities involved defective tyres in 2025, up 14% from 585 in 2024.
  • 447 collisions involved tyre defects, up 8% from 412 in 2024, and 165 fatal or serious collisions, up 18% from 139.

Car occupants carry the largest share: 120 were killed or seriously injured in 2025, up 15% from 104 in 2024. Motorcyclists recorded 39, up 8% from 36 and the highest single-year total since before 2016.

One caution: a defective tyre is recorded by the attending police officer as a contributory factor, not a proven sole cause — so this article says "in incidents involving defective tyres" throughout.

Why worn tyres are so dangerous

A tyre's job is grip, and grip is what tread provides. As tread wears down, the tyre clears less water, and the car takes longer to stop — most of all in the wet, which British drivers face for much of the winter.

Halfords and Professor Peter Wells of Cardiff University put a number on it in research published in October 2023. At 70 mph, a worn tyre adds 27 metres, or 28%, to the Highway Code baseline stopping distance: 123 metres to stop, against a baseline of 96 metres. The same research found worn tyres had seven times more effect on total wet-weather stopping distance at 70 mph than drinking alcohol.

The effect shows at lower speeds too. In a Continental test cited by TyreSafe, wet braking at 50 mph took 6.9 metres longer on a tyre worn to 1.6 mm than on a new tyre, while a tyre with 3 mm took only 2.7 metres longer. The legal limit is not the safe limit: changing tyres at 3 mm buys back most of the lost stopping distance.

The 20p test: a one-minute check

TyreSafe's 20p test is the quickest way to check tread depth, and it needs no tools. The charity's guide, updated on 9 November 2026, sets out four steps:

  • Clean any stones or debris away from the tread.
  • Insert a 20p coin into the main tread grooves, the deepest and most continuous grooves in the tyre.
  • Check whether the outer band of the coin is visible.
  • Repeat across several points on each tyre — at least three locations around each tyre.

If the outer band of the 20p coin is obscured, the tread is above the legal limit. If it is visible, the tyres may be illegal and unsafe and should be checked immediately by a qualified tyre professional. TyreSafe advises carrying out the test at least once a month, or before any long journey.

The test measures the legal limit, not the safe one.

The law and the penalty

Current UK law states that tyre tread on cars must be at a minimum of 1.6 mm across the central three-quarters of the tread, around its entire circumference. Driving with a tyre below that limit can bring a fine of up to £2,500 and 3 penalty points per tyre.

TyreSafe's Tread Depth Survey 2023 found that over 6 million tyres on UK roads have illegal tread each year, and over 17% of tyres are already illegal by the time they are replaced, with a further 40% borderline.

Tyres are also the biggest single reason cars fail their MOT: over 2 million vehicles fail every year due to tyre defects, according to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. For the vehicle problems that cost other drivers, see our uninsured vehicles article; for the dark-evening risk, see our headlights article.

What to do before a long journey

For the wider winter risk, see our snow and ice crashes article.

  • Check all four tyres with the 20p test, at three points around each tyre, and check the spare if there is one.
  • Check pressures when the tyres are cold, against the figure on the door plate or fuel cap.
  • Plan to change tyres at 3 mm of tread, not at the 1.6 mm legal minimum.
  • If the outer band of the coin is visible on any tyre, get it checked by a qualified tyre professional before the next long journey.

How these numbers were counted

All casualty figures come from the Department for Transport's Reported Road Casualties Great Britain, Final Results: 2025, published on 30 July 2026, as set out in TyreSafe's table drawn from DfT table RAS0701 (adjusted): TyreSafe: Stagnant Road Safety and Surging Tyre Defects. Killed or seriously injured (KSI) means a person killed or seriously injured in a reported collision; a defective tyre is a contributory factor recorded by the attending police officer, not a proven sole cause.

Stopping distances come from Halfords and Professor Peter Wells of Cardiff University (October 2023) and a Continental wet-braking test, both as cited by TyreSafe: TyreSafe: The Case for Action. The 20p test wording comes from TyreSafe's guide, updated 9 November 2026: TyreSafe: 20p Test. The latest year of DfT data can be revised.

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