Dangers of driving with smooth tyres

How often have you thought about the fact that your car’s tyres are the only 4, relatively small points of contact connecting us to the road while driving? At any one time, these contact patches can either be smaller when tyres are over-inflated or larger when tyres are under-inflated. What matters is that we have only a few square centimetres per tyre, keeping us stable on the road. Seeing that tyres are so crucially important, shouldn’t we note the dangers of driving with smooth tyres?1

The law has the final word about smooth, non-roadworthy tyres1

The law stipulates that the tyre tread must have at least a depth of 1 mm across the whole width of a tyre. A tread depth of 1.6 mm is safer, though. No canvas, lumps, or bulges, especially concerning the tyre walls, must be visible.

Why are smooth tyres dangerous? 1

Both smooth tyres and those damaged, especially in the wall of the tyre, pose significant dangers. Both types of tyres can cause blow-outs. It’s a scary experience when a tyre blows out at high speed. The car needs to lose momentum as fast as possible, but in the meantime, the tyre may start to disintegrate, with pieces of rubber coming off at great speed.

Smooth tyres prevent good braking, and road-holding capability1

Smooth tyres hardly grip the road and thus cause a car to take much longer to come to a stop due to skidding. In this way, you could crash into the rear of another vehicle, something that could have been avoided. Going around a corner could cause your vehicle to slide, causing you to lose control, with possibly severe consequences.

Smooth tyres are dangerous in wet weather1

The other critical function of deep tyre treads is that they displace water quickly when you drive through a flash flood on the road. This allows the tyres to stay firm on the road surface. Smooth tyres cannot displace sufficient water, causing the car to lose control while it starts ‘skiing’ on top of the water.

Another critical reason to avoid using smooth tyres1

What could be a financial disaster for you is if the car insurer rejects your accident claim upon discovering your car’s tyres to be smooth and non-roadworthy.

Prevention is better than cure1

That is how this wise saying goes. Every time you refuel, make it a habit to get out of your car and thoroughly inspect your tyres. Ask the attendant to check the tyre pressures (including that of the spare tyre) if there was any under-inflated tyre. Such a tyre may have a slow leak due to a nail or some other damage. Perhaps have any worrying tyres checked at a reputable tyre dealer? Then, at home, keep track of the tyre tread depth so that you can buy new tyres in time.

Sources:

1. Smooth Tyres
2. Disclaimer