What is the legal minimum tread depth for car tyres?

Legal requirements for tyre tread depth in the UK

There are simple rules to legal tyre tread depth in the UK on car tyres.

The limit

Tread depth of 1.6mm must be present along ¾ of the central tread width running around the entire circumference of the tyre, for car, light trailer, and light van use.

The risks of illegally shallow tread depth

For tread depth less than the legal limit, costs can be as follows:

• Up to £2,500 per tyre
• 3 penalty points per tyre
• All four tyres illegal can mean a £10,000 fine in total and 12 points, which is enough for an automatic driving ban

Minimum limits for motorcycles

For motorcycles, the limit is 1mm if greater than 50cc. The same rules apply regarding the width and circumference.

Safety guidelines

Instead of waiting for the legal limit to be reached, safety organisations and tyre manufacturers recommend replacing tyres at 3mm. From 3mm down, tests show poor performance on wet road surfaces and an increase in the required distance for the vehicle to stop on a wet road surface at 1.6mm by up to 44%, compared to performance at 3mm on wet road surfaces.