A few minutes spent checking your tyres could make a significant difference to your safety. Ahead of Ireland Tyre Safety Day on Monday, October 5, Continental Tyres Ireland is encouraging young drivers to make those checks a lifelong habit. Tyres rarely get the attention lavished on a car’s touchscreen, paintwork or sound system. Yet they are the only part of your vehicle in contact with the road, making their condition rather more important than whether your phone connects first time. To mark Ireland Tyre Safety Day 2026, Continental Tyres Ireland has teamed up with content creator Michael Deady to show why regular tyre checks matter and how straightforward they can be. A Close Look at Tyres Removed from Irish Roads Michael joined Tom Dennigan, Head of Continental Tyres Ireland, at a Modern Tyres outlet in Dublin to examine worn and damaged tyres recently removed from customers’ vehicles. Some had tread worn below the legal minimum. Others had obvious cuts and bulges. According to Dennigan, several had been carrying motorists and their families on Irish roads less than half an hour before being replaced. The resulting social media video offers a sobering reminder that a tyre can be in poor condition long before its driver notices a problem. Dennigan says many motorists simply do not look at their tyres often enough. The campaign aims to change that, particularly among younger drivers who are still establishing their car-care routines. How to Check Your Tyres You do not need to become a mechanic to give your tyres some useful attention. Start with three things: tread, visible damage and pressure. Check the Tread Depth Tread helps tyres maintain grip, particularly on wet roads. For car tyres in Ireland, the minimum permitted tread depth is 1.6mm. The Road Safety Authority recommends at least 3mm for safety. Use a tyre tread depth gauge rather than relying on appearance alone. If you are unsure about the reading or notice uneven wear, ask a tyre professional to inspect them. Look for Cuts, Bulges and Uneven Wear Walk around the car and inspect the visible tread and sidewalls. Look for cuts, cracks, bulges or patches that appear more worn than the rest of the tyre. A quick inspection can reveal a problem, but it cannot show everything. Dennigan points out that wear on the inside of a tyre may only become apparent when the wheel is removed or the vehicle is raised on a ramp. If something looks wrong, get professional advice promptly. Check the Tyre Pressure Check tyre pressures against the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended settings. The RSA’s tyre safety guidance stresses the importance of correctly inflated tyres as part of regular maintenance. Incorrect inflation can contribute to premature wear. Keeping pressures correct helps you get the best from your tyres as well as keeping an important safety component properly maintained. How Often Should You Check Your Tyres? Continental’s advice is to make a quick visual inspection part of your routine once a week or every fortnight, rather than waiting for an obvious problem. That regular walk around the car is a useful starting point. It should sit alongside pressure and tread-depth checks, with a professional inspection whenever you have concerns. The aim is simple: notice wear or damage early, before your tyres reach the condition shown in the campaign video. Why the Campaign Focuses on Young Drivers Good habits are easier to maintain when they become part of driving from the beginning. Continental has again chosen to work with a digital content creator to reach younger audiences. The hope is that checking tyres becomes as familiar as watching the fuel gauge or checking an electric car’s charge...