I’m giving a seminar on tread depth issues at the Automechanika show in Toronto in June. In reference to your February column “For Gatlin’s Sake," (a great column incidentally) I would correct one item, to wit: Canada’s tread depth law is 1.5 mm, which is less than 2/32-inch by a hair. But a hair is a hair when it comes to stopping on wet roads (2/32-inch is 1.6mm).
This government mandated depth is just not giving motorists the margins of safety required when stopping quickly on wet roads.
Another consideration that is seldom mentioned is that tread depth should be measured in all areas across the tread not just the middle grooves as some pundits and legislations suggest. Tires could show 2/32-inch in the middle groove, be completely worn on both shoulders and be considered safe by some to drive on. Go figure!
Paul Hyatt
President
Superior Tire & Auto
Toronto