YOUR car can become a potentially lethal weapon, particularly in the wet, if its tyres are badly worn or unroadworthy.

VACC, VicRoads, RACV and the TAC are calling on all vehicle owners to check their tyres during Auto Safety Week, 7-15 June.

Tyres play a vital part in the smooth operation of a car and are arguably its most important safety feature, yet too often, they are badly neglected.

Prior to Auto Safety Week, RACV and VACC conducted two series of surveys and tests, resulting in the following findings.

Firstly, tests comparing stopping distances on wet roads using unroadworthy tyres and near-new tyres resulted in a major increase in stopping distances – the unroadworthy tyres added an extra three car lengths, compared to the near-new tyres’ stopping distance when braking at 80km/h.

Secondly, one in five cars on Victoria’s roads has unroadworthy tyres, and another 20 per cent of the population have borderline unroadworthy or badly worn tyres.

At least half of the population don’t know how, or when, to check their tyres.

The State Coroner, Graeme Johnstone, said coroners regularly saw motor-vehicle deaths where worn or unroadworthy tyres contributed to fatalities on the road.

“One recent case, for example, was a triple-fatality in December 2004 on the Western Highway, where a four-wheel drive lost control when a tyre blew-out,” Mr Johnstone said.

“Accidents can be avoided by drivers regularly inspecting tyres to ensure they are properly inflated, are not worn and have adequate tread.

“Disregarding safety checks on tyres can have horrendous consequences and at times the most horrendous of all consequences – the multiple loss of life.”

Auto Safety Week is a week-long annual event throughout Victoria and a joint project between VACC, VicRoads, RACV and TAC to help reduce unnecessary accidents resulting from faulty vehicles.