If your tyres become worn you are much more likely to have a blowout, a puncture or a skid in wet conditions. Worn tyres will endanger your life and that of others, so make sure that you check your tyres on a regularly. Develop a routine, so if you wash your car weekly, why not check your tyres at the same time.

You are checking the tyre for wear, odd bulges and slices and cuts. To check the tyre check right across the tread of the tyre, many tyres are worn more on the inside than on the outside, so it is important to see the inside of the tread too. It is difficult to check the inside wall of the tyre, so you may wish to skip this part. You should never crawl under a car when you have it on a jack. Tyre wear is usually caused by poor balancing or wheel misalignment, if you check your tyres regularly, you can spot this problem before it becomes serious and costs you money for a new set of tyres. It is often easier to check the front tyre treads by putting 'full lock' on the car.

Tyres also need to be road legal to pass the MOT Test. There is a minimum tread limit above which tyres need to be in order to be legal, currently a £2500 fine and 3 penalty points per tyre may be issued.

A weekly check on the tyre pressure is also a good idea. Lower than recommended pressure tyres will reduce fuel economy and may have an adverse impact on performance and braking.