The study found the braking distance of a car travelling at 70mph with good tyres is 96 metres. But this increases to 111.5 metres if the driver is distracted by their phone, and if the car has worn tyres that are still legal, this increases to 123 metres. The motoring brand created a video to show the difference in stopping distance between a car with good tyres, a car with worn tyres, and a car with good tyres but the driver is using a phone. It shows the vehicle with worn tyres smashing through a barrier, that the car with good tyres would have stopped before – showing just how dangerous it is to drive on UK roads with illegal tyre tread. “What this research shows is that tyres worn down to the current legal limit can actually have an even greater impact on stopping distance.

Source: The Herald March 28, 2026 03:26 UTC