A STUDY OF RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN TIRE TREAD DEPTH AND THE LIKELIHOOD OF ACCIDENT INVOLVEMENT LEVEL 1 REPORT

THE PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES WERE TO DETERMINE: (1) IF AND HOW TIRE WEAR AFFECTS THE ODDS FOR ACCIDENT INVOLVEMENT; AND (2) WHAT TREAD DEPTH, IF ANY, SHOULD BE EMPLOYED AS A LEGAL MINIMUM ON THE BASIS OF ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS. A SECONDARY OBJECTIVE WAS TO DETERMINE WHAT PORTION OF ACCIDENT EXPERIENCE AND ASSOCIATED COSTS IS RELATED TO INTRINSIC OR OUTRIGHT TIRE FAILURE. THE METHODOLOGY INVOLVED A COMPARISON OF TIRE TREAD DEPTHS AND OTHER PERTINENT INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM BOTH ACCIDENT INVOLVED AND NON-ACCIDENT INVOLVED PASSENGER CARS. THE ANALYSIS OF STUDY DATA REVEALED THAT THE LIKELIHOOD OF ACCIDENT INVOLVEMENT IS INVERSELY RELATED TO TIRE TREAD DEPTH. THIS RELATIONSHIP WAS FOUND TO BE TRUE ON BOTH WET AND DRY PAVEMENTS. THE STUDY ALSO SHOWED THAT THE PERCENTAGE OF ACCIDENTS THAT OCCUR ON WET ROADS IS INVERSELY RELATED TO TIRE TREAD DEPTH. USING AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF PROJECTED ACCIDENT SAVINGS AND THE ACCOMPANYING INCREASE IN COSTS FOR BUYING TIRES MORE FREQUENTLY, AN ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO DEFINE THAT VALUE OF TIRE TREAD DEPTH MOST SUITABLE FOR USE AS A LEGAL MINIMUM. THE ANALYSIS DEMONSTRATED FAVORABLE RETURNS FOR LEGAL MINIMUM TREAD DEPTHS AS HIGH AS 4/32". /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • 25 Pp, 5 FiG, 5 TAB, 3 REF, 2 APP
• Corporate Authors:

  Highway Safety Foundation

  Mansfield, OH  United States 
• Publication Date: 1971-3

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobiles; Costs; Crashes; Economic analysis; Tire treads; Tires
• Subject Areas: Economics; Finance; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00223687
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 7 1972 12:00AM