Michelin is of the opinion that current legislation, which dates back to 1989, does not take into account the progress made in tyre technology. It says that no statistics exist that prove an increase in accident rates for vehicles running tyres with less than 4mm thread depth, and that premium brand tyres at their legal wear limit may still be more efficient than brand new rubber of the budget variety.
Changing tyres before their due time also contributes to increased costs for motorists and corporate fleets, affects the cost of contract hire and leasing schemes along with increasing PCP payments for private buyers and is equivalent to using an extra tyre per car every two years, according to the French company.
Ecological concerns have also been raised, with Michelin calculating a potential rise in annual fuel consumption of 900 million litres per year thanks to the increased rolling resistance of tyres at deeper thread depth. This is in addition to an additional three million tonnes of Co2 emissions, which rises to nine million when material loss from still-legal tyres is taken into account. If the legal thread depth limit was raised to 3mm, 1.5 million tonnes of raw material would be wasted annually.
It's an interesting viewpoint, especially since it comes from one of the world's biggest tyre manufacturers.
If there is anything about this story we have not covered, you can avail of our expert advice service via the Ask Us Anything page.