Paralysed driver pays terrible price with part worn tyres

We hope this plea from a motorist paralysed in a horrific car accident when driving on part worn tyres, will prompt you to check your car tyres more often, and to always fit new tyres on your vehicle.

The UK motorist is hoping his story will urge drivers to also think twice about which tyres they choose.

Keith Johnston, aged 41, suffered terrible life-changing injuries in the smash earlier this year and is now permanently paralysed from the top of his chest down, only able to move his arms and neck. Apart from the severe physical injuries, he has also experienced damaging emotional scars, often enduring nightmarish flashbacks to the fateful day on 8 February when he was driving his car (a Renault Megane Scenic) near Carlisle.

With temperatures well below freezing at the time of the accident, when going round a bend the car lost control, bumped across the road and rolled down a ditch. However, there was one miracle - the four passengers in the car escaped uninjured.

All of the tyres on the car had recently been purchased in a part-worn condition and a police investigation blamed them as a major contributory factor in the accident. The front pair had only been recently fitted but the rear tyres were found to have an illegal tread depth even though they had only been on the car for a couple of months.

Keith had always bought part worn tyres and replaced them every few months, unaware of the safety risks associated with buying used tyres.

"I thought I was saving money with part worn tyres, but I've paid a terrible price" he said. "If I knew then what I know now, I would never have bought part worn tyres." He urges other drivers to steer clear of part worn tyres and to always opt for brand new ones.

It is impossible to know the history of part worn tyres and the true extent of any damage which may have occurred inside the tyre.