What will affect your vehicle's stopping distance?

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Your tyres have a significant impact on stopping distance. Aside from having enough tread, you should also ensure that you have the proper tyre pressure. This will guarantee that your car's tyres make the most contact with the road, giving you more control and traction.


When your tyres are over or under-inflated, however, the amount of contact between your tyres and the road is substantially decreased. Overinflated tyres create more contact with the road in the centre, while underinflated tyres make more contact on the outer edges.


Both can result in irregular and early tyre wear, reducing traction. This means your tyres are less efficient at gaining traction when it is most needed. You can prolong the lifespan of your tyres by checking your tyre pressure at least once a month and using the proper PSI.


We already know that tyre wear has a significant role in stopping distance, which can be improved with increased tread depth. Legally, you should change your tyres when the tread reaches 1.6mm, however experts recommend replacing tyres when the tread reaches 3mm.


According to some interesting data, a car travelling at 30mph on a wet road with new tyres will come to a standstill in 25.9 metres. In the same conditions, the identical car with tyres with 3 mm of tread would come to a standstill in 35 metres. Even though this is the legal limit, that is still 35% higher than is advisable.


If you allow your tyres to deflate to 1.6mm, the stopping distance increases to 43 metres. That's roughly double the stopping distance of new tyres with 8mm of tread!