Bank Holiday Weekend: Are Your Trailer Tyres Safe & Legal?

As the last bank holiday of the summer approaches this is a timely warning from TyreSafe UK;

TyreSafe, a leading road safety charity and founding member of the UK Towing Safety Alliance (UKTSA), is today issuing an urgent call for improved trailer maintenance after a comprehensive four-year analysis of Strategic Road Network (SRN) data (2022–2025) exposed a growing mechanical crisis.

The data reveals that while towing safety campaigns for leisure vehicles are yielding positive results, the utility and commercial trailer sector is witnessing a dangerous surge in tyre-related failures.

The “One-in-Four” Rule

The national figures provide a sobering diagnosis of why vehicles are being forced to stop on the UK’s motorways and major A-roads. Towing-related breakdown incidents have risen to 4,830 annually. Crucially, tyre issues consistently represent 25%–28% of all breakdowns involving towed vehicles.

“For every four towed vehicles grounded on the side of the road, one is there specifically because of a preventable tyre failure,” says Stuart Lovatt, TyreSafe Chair. “While we are seeing a 17% decrease in collisions, reliability is moving in the wrong direction, leading to thousands of unnecessary hours of network disruption.”

Regional Crisis: The North West Epicenter

The report identifies the North West as the national epicenter for tyre failures. Trailer-specific tyre incidents in the region have skyrocketed by 40% since 2022. The North West now accounts for 21% of all national tyre issues, with a particular concentration on the M6 and M62 corridors.

Leisure vs. Utility: The Maintenance Gap

The analysis highlights a striking contrast between different vehicle types:

• Caravans (The Success Story): Caravan owners have successfully reduced tyre failures by 6% since 2022. In 2025, tyre issues accounted for 27% of total tyre breakdowns.
• Trailers (The Emergency): In contrast, trailers now cause 48% of all tyre issues nationally. There are now nearly as many trailer tyre failures (755) as caravan and horsebox failures combined (836).
• Horseboxes (The Specialist Risk): Horsebox tyre failures have surged 21.5% since 2022, with a significant spike in the East and North West regions.

A New Focus for 2026

In response to these findings, TyreSafe and the UKTSA are shifting their 2026 strategy to target “The Working Trailer.” Messaging will pivot away from traditional holiday-focused safety and toward Professional Roadworthiness for trade and utility users.

TyreSafe urges all trailer users—particularly those in the North West—to A.C.T before every journey;

1. A = Air Pressure: Ensure tyres are at the manufacturer’s recommended level for the load.
2. C = Condition: Check for bulges, cracks, or embedded objects (For horseboxes and trailers that sit stationary, replace tyres every 6–10 years regardless of tread depth.)
3. T = Tread: Ensure tyres at least meet the legal minimum tread depth of 1.6mm