Don’t Chance It – Check It! During Tyre Safety Month

Members of the public are being invited to have their car tyres checked as part of an event being held during Tyre Safety Month in Leeds.

A pop-up tyre check event, run by Leeds City Council in partnership with Kwik Fit, will be taking place at Crown Point Shopping Park from 11am until 2pm on Tuesday 11^th October. Visitors to the retail park will be able to have a free tyre health check, during which their car tyre tread, pressure and condition will be checked by tyre industry professionals. Leeds City Council’s Road Safety team will also be available to provide advice and equipment to help raise awareness and keep car drivers safer on the roads during the winter months and beyond.

Cllr Richard Lewis, Leeds City Council’s Executive member for Regeneration, Transport and Planning said:

“Making sure your tyres are ready for winter is so important- so this approach allows us to help people spot problems before they happen.

“Safe tyres with legal tread depth will reduce the risks to drivers, passengers and all road users, and by drivers taking responsibility for carrying out these simple checks we can all help to keep the roads in our city safer and reduce the number of casualties overall.”

Tyre Safety month is an annual event organised by TyreSafe, the UK’s charity dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of correct tyre maintenance and the dangers of defective and illegal tyres. Recent research carried out by the charity has found that over one-in-four British motorists are replacing their tyres when they were already illegal. In 2016, that equates to potentially over 10 million illegal and dangerous tyres on Britain’s roads. Driving on tyres with illegal tread depth not only reduces safety on the road but also risks a fine of up to £2,500 and three penalty points for each illegal tyre.

Jay Heath, Marketing Manager at Crown Point Shopping Park, said they are looking forward to welcoming Kwik Fit and Leeds City Council to the park for Tyre Safety Month. “We have thousands of people from across the city driving into Crown Point Shopping Park every week, so the safety of our shoppers on the road is extremely important to us.

“With winter quickly approaching, people often forget to safety check their cars, especially the tyres, so we are encouraging our customers and retailer staff to visit the pop-up tyre safety to chat to the team about their car and the necessary measures they need to take before driving home from Crown Point safely.”

Photo / Interview Opportunity

Leeds City Council Road Safety Officers will be working with tyre professionals at Crown Point Shopping Park on Tuesday 11^th October between 11am and 2pm where they will be handing out tyre safety information and resources, and encouraging members of the public to have free tyre safety checks.

Press are invited to attend to interview staff, the public and for photo opportunities.

For further information, please contact Becky Murray on 0113 3950728

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