And unsafe tires are against the law, too

If you were driving in McHenry County Wednesday, you may have noticed that the roads were a tad icy. In fact, it was hard to miss. There were accidents and cars in the ditch. For those drivers who avoided those unsavory outcomes, traction accelerating, and decelerating were impaired. This was not the day for bald tires.

On this blog, we have previously pointed out the importance of checking the tread depth on your tires. On a day like yesterday, that was crucial. Even with good tires, with plenty of tread depth, cars, trucks, and SUVs were spinning and sliding. With bald tires, a driver in McHenry County had almost no hope at all. But good tires are more than a good idea.

According to Illinois Vehicle Code 625 ILCS 5/, it is illegal to drive on bad tires. Bad tires are described as tires are deemed unsafe if their ply or cords are exposed, they have sidewall cracks, cuts or other damage; where there are bulges or separations and if “Tread wear indicators flush with the tread outer surface in any to or more adjacent tread grooves … (or) a depth of tread groove less than 2/32 of an inch …”

It’s not often that a driver in McHenry County is pulled over for driving on a tire with inadequate tread depth. But tires lacking sufficient tread depth can lead to an accident. If involved in an accident, even if it’s not the accident is not the fault of the driver with the unsafe tire, lawyers and insurance companies are liable to take inferior tread depth and tire condition into account. In a courtroom, a driver is liable to find themselves held responsible because of the condition of their tires.

This is an additional good reason to check the tires on your car, truck or SUV and ensure that they are in good, safe condition. But when driving in McHenry County on days like yesterday, having good tires is enough of a reward all by itself.