Old tires are a major safety hazard that can be dangerous to you and other road users when driving. The rubber compound begins to become porous after this time, which affects the behaviour of the tires in extreme and dangerous situations. You can this website and have the best choices now.

DOT number gives the age of the tire

The chronological age of a tire can be read on the sidewall behind the word “DOT”. The so-called DOT number, named after the “Department of Transportation”, was originally introduced by the US Department of Transportation. The last four digits of the DOT number indicate the date of manufacture of the tire at week exactly: The first two digits indicate the production week out, so the range is from 01 to 53. The last two digits represent the year of production.

Note minimum profile depth

The correct minimum tread depth of the tires is vital! The braking behaviour of your vehicle on wet roads is significantly worse when the tire tread is worn: aquaplaning increases with worn tread grooves; the braking distance is longer. Professionals recommend 3 mm minimum tread depth for summer tires and at least 4 mm tread depth for winter tires.

With worn tires on the way? This could get expensive

As soon as your tires have fallen below the least tread depth of 1.6 millimetres, they must no longer be driven on the road. They are considered no longer safe and belong to sorted out. As the owner or driver of the vehicle, you are responsible for regularly checking the tread depth and should also measure it regularly.

If you are caught in the traffic as a driver with a crazy tire tread depth and stopped without the obstruction of other road users, you face 50 $ fine and a point to Flensburg. As a holder in your own vehicle threaten you $ 75 and also a point in Flensburg. If you hinder other drivers with worn tires, you will pay a fine of $ 75. If the golden ring of the coin disappears, your tire tread is at least 3 millimetres deep.

How can you measure the tread depth?

You can use a profile-meter or simply measure the tread depth with a 1 euro coin. Hold the coin in the middle of the profile and at the edge of the tire. If the golden ring of the coin disappears, your tire tread is at least 3 millimetres deep. Otherwise, experts recommend you visit your tire dealer and change your tires regularly. Wear indicators are evenly distributed transverse webs in the longitudinal tread grooves over the circumference of the tire.

How to wear indicators help you

Tread Wear Indicators (TWI) of the profile are evenly distributed transverse webs in the longitudinal profile grooves over the circumference of the tire, which lie at about 1.6 millimetres residual tread depth on the same level as the remaining tread. The change of tires with a residual tread depth of 1.6 millimetres corresponds to a broadly accepted standard, which has been adopted by many transport authorities worldwide in the form of national regulations. This standard of minimum legal proficiency has been adopted by many transport authorities worldwide in the form of national regulations.