Carlow Town businessman appeals to motorists over dangers of 'bald or damaged tyres'
Some 350,000 Irish cars estimated to have illegally low tread depth
A Carlow Town businessman has appealed to drivers to be wary of "unsafe bald or damaged tyres".
Research examined by Continental Tyres shows 3,260 tyre penalty notices have been issued by Gardaí since 2016, an average of 90 per month.
John Whelan, who runs JW Tyres in Carlow Town, said: "Day in, day out, we are seeing cars at our depot on seriously damaged or worn tyres below the legal 1.6mm of tread depth.
"We do our best to explain to the driver how unsafe bald or damaged tyres can be – you don’t know when one will cause a blowout. But sometimes the driver is adamant that they do not want to or can’t afford to replace the tyre."