Defective tires are the cause of failure for fifth of motorists in the country who fail their MOTs, revealed the Road Safety Authority in the Republic of Ireland.
Between January and June of this year, more than 106,000 of the 560,000 cars tested in Ireland failed the country’s National Car Test (NCT) which certifies their legality for the road.
According to the RSA chief executive Noel Brett economic climate is the reason for risks taken by drivers.
"This is a major public safety issue and could lead to people being killed. I would urge all motorists to go to a reputable tyre dealer and have their tyres checked and replaced if necessary,” he warned.
Brett said that he was also surprised by the scale of the issue, which potentially represented 1 in 5 cars on Irish roads. "When you consider the size of the national car fleet you could be looking at as many as 500,000 motorists driving on defective tyres," he said.
The news is supplemented with the findings of UK safety campaigner TyreSafe which show that court convictions in England and Wales for driving with defective tyres are at a four-year high.
“The figures show that delaying the purchase of new tyres is a false economy. If you’re lucky you’ll get caught, but you could end up paying with your life,” said DIA group manager Steve Garrod.