Cops make 'extremely dangerous' find on ute tyres after P-plate driver pulled over
The small detail can pose a significant safety risk on Australian roads.
A small detail at the back of one P-plater's car has left the driver with a suspended licence and a date in court in one fell swoop after it was deemed "extremely dangerous" by police.
The driver in question was caught clocking 150 km/h along a road in Springside, NSW on Sunday evening while police were patrolling the area after reports of vehicles performing burnouts.
After the P-plater was stopped by authorities for exceeding the speed limit by 50 km/h, they carried out a subsequent vehicle examination and police found that both rear tyres were bald, with parts of the tyres wrapped around the lower areas of the suspension.
"The tread had delaminated from the canvass and was wrapped around the lower control arms of the rear suspension, making the vehicle extremely dangerous to drive," police said online about the discovery. "[A] red defect label issued and the vehicle was immediately grounded."
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Bald tyres can be deadly
The legal minimum tyre tread depth is 1.5 millimetres in NSW — and is similar across the country — with the small grooves in car tyres being a significant safety feature.
Bald tyres are risky for two reasons. Firstly, tyres are more susceptive to punctures if they have worn down their treads and tyres also lack adequate traction against roads, especially if the car is being driven in wet conditions. Without tyre treads water can no longer be channeled under the car, making it easy for a driver to lose control on slippy road surfaces and for collisions to occur.
The condition of the P-plater's tyres were so bad authorities deemed his driving "dangerous to the public" and he was issued with a licence suspension notice and a court attendance notice. After the incident was shared online, one Aussie said, "I reckon you may have just saved someone's life."
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