I’ve been driving for over seven years, and I always thought that I knew enough about cars to be a safe driver, but the Kwik Fit #TyreChallenge has proven that actually I don’t know everything that I need to know and has encouraged me to brush up on my tyre knowledge.

 

While many drivers take tyres for granted, it’s important to remember how crucial to vehicle safety they really are. Tyres are an important aspect of vehicle safety and are one that shouldn’t be forgotten about, after all they are what allows your vehicle to move safely. Without your tyres, your car wouldn’t be going anywhere.

 

To keep your tyres ‘healthy’ and your car working properly, they require regular maintenance and care. Things like tyre pressure and tyre depth need to be taken into account and carefully monitored throughout the year.

 

 

I took the Kwik Fit #TyreChallenge quiz

 

To see how much I knew about tyre care and vehicle safety, I took the Kwik Fit tyre quiz. While I scored six out of ten which isn’t too bad, what I realised while I was taking the quiz was that I know very little about car tyres and vehicle safety. I might have been driving for a long period of time but my knowledge of how to take care of my car, and more specifically my tyres is limited.

 

I realised that I don’t know how to measure the pressure of my tyres because, stereotypically, I always get The Gamer Bloke or my dad to do it for me. I know where you look for the correct tyre pressures but I’ve never actually filled my tyres myself, and I know if I had to do so I would feel extremely nervous doing so.

 

The questions…

 

Question one was about stopping distances. While I know that you must stay two chevrons apart on the motorway, I don’t actually remember what I learned as a student driver when it came to the theory behind stopping distances. (I probably should brush up on this.)

 

Number two was about the legal minimum tyre tread depth. I had to guess the answer to this question as honestly, I wasn’t too sure. (I know that you can do the 50p trick but I don’t know what the actual legal amount is for tyres.)

 

The next question was about where you can find information about your car’s tyre pressure and what it should be inflated to.

 

The fourth question was about determining the size of a tyre. I can honestly say that for this question I had no idea. I didn’t realise that drivers were meant to know this kind of information – I always leave that stuff down to the garage but maybe I shouldn’t do.

 

Next, the question was about the maximum distance you can travel using a space saver tyre. I’m pleased to say that I knew the answer to this as my car has recently had a puncture and my space saver tyre had to be used.

 

Then there was a question about when winter tyres are ideally suited. I thought that winter tyres could be used all the time but were best for use in colder weather, however, I think I may be wrong.

 

Question seven was about how often you should check your tyre pressure. I know it’s once a month but I also know that I don’t check my tyre pressure once a month. Usually, I would check my tyre pressures before long journeys but that is about it.

 

What I learned from the Kwik Fit #TyreChallenge quiz is the fact that I don’t know enough about my car’s tyres and that I should probably do some reading on the subject. Want to test yourself and see if you know as much as you should do about car tyres? Head over to the Kwik Fit website and give their quiz a try!