Tyre-related breakdowns a cause for concern, says National Highways

One-in-seven reported vehicle breakdowns on England’s major A-roads and motorways were tyre-related during the first weekend of the summer getaway in 2023. 

National Highways traffic officers attended a total of 756 reported breakdowns across the country with 124 of those related to tyres on Saturday and Sunday, July 22 and 23. 

Data from last year shows that between June and August 2022, there were almost 12,000 reported tyre-related breakdowns across England’s motorway and major A-road network. 

Some of the most prominent regions for tyre-related breakdowns included the North-West region which recorded 2,195 tyre-related breakdowns closely followed by the West Midlands which totalled 1,974.  

National Highways head of road safety, Jeremy Phillips said: “These figures are a real cause for concern.

“Our advice for motorists is to make sure the tyres are correctly inflated according to the load and ensure there is plenty of tread on them.

“We’d say good tyre tread is an important safety factor for any journey but especially so in changeable weather conditions such as heavy and sudden downpours which we’ve seen over recent weeks.” 

In July and August 2022, National Highways traffic officer patrols dealt with more than 21,000 breakdowns on motorways across England, with August seeing the highest number of breakdowns in the year.   

More than a third (34%) of breakdowns during these two months were caused by vehicle-related issues.