28Tyre tread

28 Tyre tread

28 Tyre tread

(1) A tyre fitted to a heavy vehicle must not have cleats or other gripping devices that could damage road surfaces.

(2) A tyre fitted to the vehicle must have a tread pattern at least 1.5mm deep in all principal grooves on the tyre, other than at tread wear indicators, in a band running continuously—

(a) across at least 75% of the tyre width that normally comes into contact with the road; and

(b) around the whole circumference of the tyre.

(3) A heavy vehicle must not be fitted with a tyre that has been treated by recutting or regrooving the tread rubber, unless the tyre was—

(a) constructed with an extra thickness of rubber designed for recutting or regrooving; and

(b) labelled to indicate the construction.

(4) In this section—

principal grooves, in relation to a tyre, means wide grooves, other than secondary grooves—

(a) usually positioned in the central zone of the tyre tread but that may run across the tyre tread; and

(b) in which tread wear indicators are usually located.

secondary grooves, in relation to a tyre, means shallow grooves in the tyre tread that may disappear during the life of the tyre through wear.

tread wear indicators, in relation to a tyre, means projections within a groove of the tyre that indicate the degree of wear on the tyre’s tread.