Fixed Penalty notice (code 117) and PG9

[katedog]

keep the 'suspect' tyre at all costs !! many of these offenses are mistaken. the regs are more complex than that and a lot of police don't really know them.. check out the MOT rules.

 

 

dont look at mot rules look at road traffic act constrution and use this is what police/magistrates use and for some cases they vary from mot rules. (although i do think it is the same for tyres)

[katedog]

This is for a car tyre.

 

M/cycle tyres is 1mm. It has to be the central 3/4 of the usable tread.

Sometimes the tyre will have what looks like tread all the way to the edge, this is for cosmetic reasons and is not usable.

[katedog]

If you want to challenge this there should be a part of your FPN which invites you to plead not guiilty. Fill this in and send it back within your 28 day time limit (send it recorded).

 

You will then get a summons fron the local magistrates. This will also include disclosure from PC plod in the form as his statement. That will tell you which tyre you are being done for and the reason youre getting done, ie " i examined the tyre and found the tread to be less that 1mm in depth. The nice officer should also tell you what device he used to measure the depth and its reference number. The gauges they use have to be calibrated at regular intervals by an approved testing house and you can if you so wish ask to see the calibration certificate. If they didn't use a calibrated device and cant evidence its accuracy they wont bother turning up to court.

 

For car tyres they would measusre depth at several location across an imaginary line through the centarl 3/4s.

 

Most modern motorcyle tryes have very limited tread groves and if you draw that imaginary line through the width of the tyre the chances are you will only draw it across one grove.

 

Just before we go any further you are sure you are being done for "defective tyre tread depth less than 1 mm" and not for "defective tyre tread not visible" any tyre is defective if any part of the original teard is not vsible. this is something that happens quite often on modern bike tyres with a soft compound. the outside tread looks fine but lots of m/way miles will soon wear out the cetral grove.

 

Like every one else has said you need to recover the tyres and keep them safe and take them to court if it gets that far.

 

If PC plod is any good he will have recorded the deatils of the tyre on his part of the ticket. Every tyre has its make and size and other bits and pieces but each and every tyre also has a unique serial number on it so they can prove if you bring in a ringer.

 

good luck and keep us posted.

[katedog]

It,s worth bearing in mind if PC plod was pushing his gauge into the tread it would have given a false reading, but it would have been false in your favour!!!!!!!!!!!

 

What are you using to measure your tread?

 

The ones that you get off the RAC or ATS, they look like a small metal pole with a pen clip attached , are a good guide but not necessaraly accurate.

 

You need to get a ture accurate reading before you defend yourself. (an engineering shop may well have an accurate dial gauge you could borrow)

 

You need to make sure you've got

 

a. 1 mm or more of tread depth and

 

b. its that depth or more in the central 3/4s of the useable width of the tyre and

 

c. that is ture all the way around the tyre.

 

If your 100% sure of all these things and you can show that to the court then go for it.

Edited July 11, 2009 by katedog

[katedog]

My understanding is that he needs to use an accurate gauge, that would be something which is regularly calibrated by an accredited testing house. The ones I have seen look like an anolog cwatch face with a bit stickiing out the bottom. The single hand goes round as the sensor goes in to your tread.

 

There are digital versions as well.

 

But what everv they use would give a reading of say 0.97mm. They need to be saying what the depth was not just that it was less than 1 mm.

 

A simple tool that you and i can get from ATS or RAC as part of an advertsing campaign is not good enough.