Tyre Casualties Rise 14% As Drivers Back More Education

Casualties in British road collisions involving illegal, defective or underinflated tyres rose 14% in 2025, even as overall road fatalities declined. New Bridgestone research showing strong public support for greater tyre education among new drivers raises a wider road safety question: whether basic tyre maintenance is being taught consistently enough before and after motorists pass their test.

Department for Transport figures cited by Bridgestone show 667 casualties in incidents involving illegal, defective or underinflated tyres during 2025, up from 585 in 2024. The number of people killed or seriously injured in these collisions increased more sharply, rising 19% from 169 to 201, while collisions involving defective tyres reached 447.

The increase stands out against a mixed but generally more favourable national picture. Final DfT statistics recorded 1,538 road fatalities across Great Britain in 2025, down 4% from 1,602 in 2024 and among the lowest totals recorded outside the pandemic period. Killed or seriously injured casualties across all reported road collisions nevertheless increased 4% to 29,918, while total casualties were broadly unchanged at 127,883.

The tyre figures do not establish that shortcomings in driver education caused the increase, and several factors can influence collision statistics. They do, however, add weight to an established road safety problem: relatively simple vehicle maintenance failures continue to appear in serious collisions despite tyre condition and pressure already featuring within the driver testing system.

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Strong Support For Greater Tyre Knowledge

Research commissioned by Bridgestone UK and conducted online by Research Without Barriers among 2,000 UK car owners in January found 81% believed new drivers should fully understand correct tyre pressures, tread depths and the role of tyre pressure monitoring systems.

The findings extend responsibility beyond individual motorists. Some 67% of respondents said tyre safety checks should form part of routine police traffic stops, while 76% believed employers should do more to ensure tyres are correctly maintained on vehicles used for work-related journeys, including privately owned vehicles used for business. Another 78% supported dedicated tyre safety education before young people begin learning to drive.

For the tyre sector, the significance lies less in the individual percentages than in where motorists appear to place responsibility. The results suggest substantial support for tyre maintenance being treated as an ongoing road safety competency involving instructors, motorists and employers rather than knowledge needed primarily at the point of a driving test.

That argument has already begun moving into practical driver training. TyreSafe partnered with RED Driver Training in 2025 to embed tyre safety in new-driver education, while its subsequent young-driver campaign brought together training and road safety organisations around practical pressure, condition and tread checks.

What The Driving Test Already Covers

Tyre safety is already included in the practical car driving test. Under current Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency requirements, candidates are asked two vehicle safety questions: a "tell me" question before driving and a "show me" question while driving.

The official question bank includes asking candidates where the manufacturer's recommended tyre pressures can be found and how pressures should be checked. Another possible question requires candidates to explain how they would establish whether tyres have sufficient tread depth and are in a safe condition, including the 1.6mm legal minimum across the central three-quarters of the tyre and checks for cuts and bulges.

However, tyre knowledge is part of a broader pool of vehicle safety questions rather than a dedicated assessment completed by every candidate. Getting one or both vehicle safety questions wrong normally results in a single driving fault.

That distinction is important. The issue is therefore not whether tyre maintenance is absent from driver testing, but whether the present approach is sufficient to turn basic knowledge into a routine maintenance habit once drivers are responsible for their own vehicles.

Previous Bridgestone research has pointed towards that gap between knowledge and behaviour. In 2025, the company reported widespread delays in tyre replacement among motorists, while its practical safety activities have continued to identify vehicles requiring attention. At the British Motor Show last year, for example, Bridgestone and Kwik Fit inspections found tyre concerns on nearly a quarter of 248 vehicles checked.

Debate Extends Beyond Tyres

Bridgestone's latest research also revisited public attitudes towards restrictions and additional training for newly qualified drivers. The company said 57% supported a Graduated Driving Licence system, while half backed requiring motorists to display a "recently passed" sign for up to 12 months and limiting new drivers to one passenger during their first year.

Support was lower for more restrictive interventions. Some 39% backed a refresher course after passing the driving test, while 21% supported restricting newly qualified motorists to journeys within 50 miles of home during their first six to 12 months.

Helen Roe, senior marketing manager at Bridgestone UK, said: "Learning to drive doesn't stop the day someone passes their test. Developing safe habits, including understanding how to check and maintain tyres, is an important part of becoming a confident and responsible driver."

The survey forms part of Bridgestone's wider road safety activity and should therefore be viewed in that context. The casualty figures themselves, however, come from official road collision data and create a broader issue for policymakers, driver trainers and the tyre industry.

With tyre-related casualties moving in the wrong direction in 2025, the policy question is increasingly about how maintenance knowledge translates into behaviour. The existing driving test establishes that motorists can be expected to understand basic tyre checks. The next question is whether those checks should become a more consistent element of learning, post-test education and workplace road risk management rather than something motorists encounter only periodically.

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Tags: tyre safety, tyre casualties, Bridgestone UK, driver education, tyre maintenance, road safety, driving test, tyre pressure, tread depth, young drivers

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