Tyre Safety Day: A call for young drivers to check their tyres.

Today, the Road Safety Authority (RSA), the cops (An Garda Síochána), and the Irish Tyre Industry Association (ITIA) started Tyre Safety Day, which is all about teaching young drivers to check their tyres regularly. They're doing this at Dublin City University (DCU) where they'll show students how to check their tyres for any problems.

Since it’s getting colder and will be raining more, the RSA is telling everyone that having good tyre grip is super important. This helps when you have to stop your car quickly, especially in wet weather.

It's a bit scary that tyres are the number one reason why cars fail their NCT (that’s like a car check-up) here in Ireland. In the last year, about 162,222 cars didn’t pass because their tyres were bad, and 44,887 of those cars had really worn-out tyres that were way too thin.

Sarah O’Connor from the RSA said that tyres are super important because they are the only part of your car that touches the road. She said that young drivers need to get used to checking their tyres so they know they're safe before they drive.

Chief Superintendent Jane Humphries said that having good tyres means you’re less likely to have a crash, and that helps keep everyone on the road safe. They’re going to have special police checks today to make sure people know about keeping their tyres in good shape and they’ll be strict about it too.

All across Ireland, ITIA shops are inviting drivers to come by for a free check on their tyre pressure and how deep the tread is during this Road Safety Week. If you go to www.itia.ie, you can find the nearest place to get your tyres checked out and you can also download a guide on tyre safety which talks about how to pick good second-hand tyres.

Sue O’Neil, who runs the ITIA, said they really want drivers to start checking their tyres more. Their shops are ready to help drivers learn more about keeping their tyres in good condition not just this week but all year.

Brandon Perry, who represents the students at DCU, said it’s great that students can learn all about tyre safety from the pros. They get to ask questions and find out how bad tyres can be really dangerous. He thinks checking your tyres should be something everyone does all the time because it’s so important for staying safe.