Some 60 per cent of women drivers do not know the minimum tread depth for tyres, according to new research.

The RAC Foundation has released the figures as part of an eight-week safety campaign to highlight the dangers of tired tread and wrongly inflated tyres.

Good tyres are vital for safe driving as they affect steering, braking and acceleration of vehicles, the motoring organisation claims.

It adds illegal, under-inflated and defective tyres were a contributory factor in two per cent of the fatal accidents which occurred in 2006.

The group states it is illegal to have car tyres with tread worn to below 1.6mm, over or under-inflated tyres and tyres with lumps, cuts, bulges or tears.

It is also against the law to use a mix of radial and cross-ply tyres and to fit the wrong sort of tyre to a vehicle.

Commenting on the importance of car safety checks, Elizabeth Dainton from the RAC said: "How well the road and tyre grip each other may be the difference between life and death in an emergency."

In other news, Norwich Union has advised female motorists with a drink driving conviction to be honest when applying for car insurance.

Find out how foxy lady drivers run safer cars.

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