Key points:
- DVSA issued tyre prohibitions to 7.62% of the HGVs it inspected in April–June 2026 – about three times more often than for the next defect.
- On trailers the rate was even higher: 15.48% of those inspected had a tyre defect serious enough for a prohibition.
- In North America, tyres accounted for 20.9% of vehicle out-of-service violations during the 2026 Roadcheck, second only to brake systems.
- In Great Britain, 201 people were killed or seriously injured in collisions linked to defective tyres in 2025, 19% more than a year earlier.
Britain: tyres far ahead of other defects
According to DVSA enforcement data, condition of tyres has been the most common prohibition defect for HGVs in every quarter of the past year. In April–June 2026, examiners found a tyre defect serious enough to stop the vehicle on 7.62% of the lorries they checked. The next defects were exhaust emissions (2.48%) and security of body (2.31%).
On trailers, the problem is even bigger. In the same quarter, 15.48% of trailers inspected received a tyre prohibition, the highest rate in the past five quarters.
| Quarter | HGVs | Trailers |
|---|---|---|
| Apr–Jun 2025 | 7.97% | 12.72% |
| Jul–Sep 2025 | 7.22% | 13.05% |
| Oct–Dec 2025 | 6.67% | 11.21% |
| Jan–Mar 2026 | 6.44% | 11.72% |
| Apr–Jun 2026 | 7.62% | 15.48% |
Tyre prohibitions as a share of all vehicles inspected. Source: DVSA, vehicle enforcement data for Great Britain
A prohibition means the vehicle cannot continue until the tyre is replaced. Under DVSA guidance, exposed cords, tread separation or a cut that reveals the cords lead to an immediate prohibition at the roadside.
We have previously described how DVSA checks of GB and foreign HGVs work, and how repeated tyre prohibitions can even cost an operator its licence.
North America: second only to brakes
The picture is similar across the Atlantic. During the 2026 International Roadcheck, held on 12–14 May in the US, Canada and Mexico, inspectors carried out 54,575 inspections and placed 10,350 commercial vehicles out of service. Tyres accounted for 2,914 out-of-service violations, or 20.9% of the total. Only brake systems (24.3%) were more common.
A year earlier, tyres were the vehicle focus of the Roadcheck. Inspectors then found 2,899 tyre-related violations, or 21.4% of all vehicle out-of-service violations. The most common problems were flat tyres, insufficient tread depth, cuts exposing the cord ply, improper repairs and tyres not rated for the load.
Europe: data with a delay
EU-wide data on roadside inspections are published with a long delay and grouped into broad categories. In the European Commission’s report on technical roadside inspections in 2017–2018, the group covering axles, wheels, tyres and suspension was the second most common type of deficiency (16.5%), after lighting and electrical systems (26.4%).
The cost of a worn tyre
Tyre defects are not only a compliance problem. According to TyreSafe, a UK tyre safety charity, 201 people were killed or seriously injured in collisions involving defective tyres in Great Britain in 2025. That is 19% more than in 2024 and 38 more than the five-year average.
Data from fleet service provider i247 Group suggest that many problems are spotted too late. In a pilot covering 200,000 tyre removals from UK fleet vehicles over 12 months, 13.6% of tyres – roughly one in seven – were already below the legal tread depth. That equals 74 illegal tyres removed every day.
Knowledge gaps play a role too. In a TyreSafe survey of commercial fleets, 38% of drivers did not know the legal minimum tread depth for an HGV tyre in the UK, which is 1 mm.
What hauliers can do
- Make tyres the first point of the daily walkaround check, including trailers, which are inspected less carefully.
- Look for cuts, bulges and exposed cords, not only tread depth.
- Set a replacement threshold above the legal minimum and keep records of tyre checks.
- Check tyre pressure regularly – under-inflation speeds up wear and increases the risk of failure.
