Tyres really are one of the biggest one-stop (no pun intended) solutions to road safety. At a time when everyone from politicians to the average driver is expressing anxiety over road safety and deaths on Irish roads, we still seem to be missing out on the single most important safety item on our cars - the tyres.
How do we know people are ignoring their tyres?
While there's plenty of anecdotal evidence that few drivers ever pay much attention to their tyres until they get a flat (go on - when was the last time you checked your tyre pressures? Be honest…), there are hard statistics to back up the claim that we're ignoring the black circles.
Those numbers come from the National Car Testing Service (NCTS) which in itself is one of the not-fit-for-purpose organisations that is contributing to our lack of on-road safety, but in this case the NCTS' statistics lay the tyre issue bare - in 14.3 per cent of the 1,744,985 NCT tests carried out in 2025, tyres were the main reason for failing the test, just ahead of faulty suspension (10.9 per cent) and faulty steering (8.5 per cent).
While you might think that major mechanical components failing would be a bigger deal, the simple fact is that without the tyres, those components have nothing to do - the tyres are the only things connecting the car to the road.
Is the problem getting worse?
Yes, it is. Back in October 2025, during Road Safety Week, the NCTS highlighted that taking the 12 months from October 2023, 10.5 per cent of NCT tests were failed due to tyre conditions, so in just three months, the rate has increased by four percentage points.
Sam Waide, CEO of the Road Safety Authority (RSA), said: "Tyres are the only part of your vehicle in direct contact with the road, and they play a vital role in keeping you safe. Worn or defective tyres can mean the difference between stopping in time or being involved in a serious collision. Alarmingly, tyres remain the leading cause of NCT failures, which shows that too many motorists are not carrying out basic checks. Checking your tyres should be a year-round habit, not something left until test time.”
Think this is all just hot air? It's not - The RSA (another organisation that is deeply flawed and which is currently undergoing a complete change of operations) studied data from fatal road crashes between 2015 and 2020 and found that, in cases where the vehicle condition was recorded, 13 per cent of those cars had faulty tyres.
What can we do?
In common with most issues surrounding road safety, this will require something of a societal shift, where we all start viewing driving as a skill and a responsibility, instead of a right. While we wait for that to happen (don't hold your breath…), you can start by following the experts' advice. Tom Dennigan of Continental Tyres said: "Drivers in Ireland need to up their game when it comes to tyre safety. It is not a difficult task, as any driver can carry out a visual examination of a car's tyres that will show up any obvious problems. However, our advice to motorists is always to regularly have your tyres checked at a local tyre dealership where expert staff will identify any problems before it's too late. Many tyre outlets will happily provide you with a free tyre check.”
The basic checks we should all carry out are: A visual check before every journey, looking for bulges, cracks, cuts, or uneven wear; ensure tyres are inflated to the manufacturer's recommended pressure; replace tyres when tread depth falls below 3mm-new tyres typically have 8mm, and while the legal minimum tread is 1.6mm (1mm for motorcycles), the fact is that tyre performance drops off dramatically, especially in the wet, below 3mm tread depth.
Got an NCT coming up? Click here for our 8 top tips on how to prepare your car for its NCT.