Continental believes that the risk of accidents on Britain’s roads could be significantly reduced if tyres* were replaced at a tread depth of 3mm instead of 1.6mm. In the wet, the difference between 1.6mm and 3mm of tread depth could be the difference between stopping in time or hitting an obstacle at 50mph. In wet conditions, it took a Ford Focus 91m to stop with 3mm of tread. In the same car with the legal limit of 1.6mm of tread it took 135m to stop - 50% further. These investigations were undertaken by Auto Express and their startling results can be seen below.

*Summer tyres (used all year round in warm climates)