TyreSafe, the leading tyre safety charity, is urging the UK Government for policy and driver intervention, following a shocking increase in serious injuries and deaths on roads related to defective tyres.
According to the latest figures released by the Department for Transport (DfT), the number of people killed or seriously injured (KSI) where the cause was attributed to illegal, defective or underinflated tyres jumped by 19% year-on-year in 2025.
In total, 201 defective tyre-related KSI casualties were recorded. This is up from 164 in 2024. Total casualties across all severities caused by defective tyres reached 667 in 2025 (up 14% from 585 in 2024), whilst overall collisions involving tyre defects rose to 447.
This pushed the five-year average for tyre-related KSI casualties up to 163, from 150 last year. The results underscore a worsening trend in preventable vehicle defect incidents.
Risks of defective tyres
According to TyreSafe, breaking down the 2025 casualty data highlights growing risks across key vehicle categories.
For car occupants, KSI casualties involving defective tyres rose to 120 in 2025. This is up from 104 in 2024, continuing a sustained rebound from the pandemic low of 72 in 2021.
Motorcyclists remain significantly impacted. Defective tyre KSI casualties in this group reached 39 in 2025. This is the highest single-year total recorded in the dataset since before 2016.
While total casualties across all severities dropped significantly from 2016 levels, with a peak of 876 dropping down to 507 in 2020, figures have steadily climbed every year since 2021. The number of total casualties related to defective tyres reached 667 casualties and 447 total collisions in 2025.
A troubling trend
The sharp rise in defective tyre-related incidents is just part of a troubling trend in KSI casualties. While overall fatalities on UK roads dropped by 4% compared to 2024, the 29,918 KSIs recorded was a 4% increase year-on-year.
In January 2026, the DfT launched its new Road Safety Strategy, setting out two flagship targets for 2035 against a 2022–2024 baseline. The targets include a 65% reduction in total KSIs, and a 70% reduction in under-16 KSIs by 2035.
TyreSafe highlights that with total KSIs jumping to 29,918 in 2025, the baseline trajectory has immediately taken a step in the wrong direction. To achieve a 65% reduction by 2035, the UK needs steep, consistent annual drops in serious injuries.
Preventive maintenance
While TyreSafe welcomed the explicit inclusion of its programme in the Government’s Road Safety Strategy in January 2026, the 2025 casualty figures prove that preventative vehicle maintenance must be given far greater prominence within the ‘Safe Vehicles’ pillar.
Over two million vehicles fail their MOT every year due to defective tyres, millions of which are driven on public roads until test day and beyond.
TyreSafe is calling on the Department for Transport to include DVSA MOT defect data as a core Safety Performance Indicator (SPI) within the Road Safety Strategy. Tracking MOT failure rates provides a vital leading indicator of vehicle health, allowing for proactive intervention before a defect results in a serious collision.
“Last year we called for urgent action as casualty figures remained stagnant,” commented Stuart Lovatt, Chair of TyreSafe. “The 2025 data shows that far from improving, tyre-related casualties have jumped by 19% in a single year. That represents 201 families whose lives have been impacted by entirely preventable vehicle failures.
“Seeing motorcycle tyre-related KSIs hit 39 and car occupant KSIs rise to 120 demonstrates that poor vehicle maintenance is a widespread hazard across all road user groups. We welcome the overarching targets set out in the Government’s Road Safety Strategy, but a 4% rise in overall KSIs in year one shows we are heading in the wrong direction.
“Preventative maintenance is a vital element of the Safe System approach. By integrating DVSA MOT data as an official Safety Performance Indicator and backing dedicated public campaigns, we can address better tyre safety management before it leads to disaster on our roads.”
