Car owner jailed after failing to replace worn tyres before fatal crash
A car owner who ignored advice to replace his worn tyres has been jailed after his car, driven by a friend, was involved in a fatal crash.
Henry Reynolds was sentenced to two years and six months in prison and banned from driving for four years and three months in the landmark case after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting, causing the death of Winston Chau by dangerous driving.
He also admitted to aiding and abetting causing serious injury to Chau’s mother Cam Chau, the BBC reports.
Reynolds was warned by an MOT centre in February 2018 - three months before the crash - that his tyres were near the legal limit of 1.6mm.
But instead of replacing them he drove nearly 7,000 miles more before the fatal crash in May 2018 in Redbourn, Hertfordshire.
Witnesses described seeing Reynolds’ Mercedes-Benz “fishtailing” on wet roads before it ploughed into Chau’s car.
The Mercedes was being driven by Reynold’s friend TJ Sam Quirke, who was over the legal drink-drive limit.
Before sentencing Reynolds, who was a passenger in his Mercedes at the time of the crash, Judge Michael Kay QC said that it was an “unusual case” in which no precedent could be found.
"The car was in a dangerous state" Judge Kay QC
“You were not driving the vehicle, but you were allowing someone else to drive the car when it was unroadworthy and in a dangerous state,” Judge Kay said.
Quirke was jailed for five years and three months and banned from driving for seven years and three months in November 2020 after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and other offences.
When should I replace my tyres?
Legally, your tyres need to have a tread depth of at least 1.6mm and it is advisable to change your tyres between 3mm and 2mm.
You should also replace your tyres if you notice uneven wear, damage such as cracks, blisters or bulges, or a hole bigger than 6mm in the tyre.
Typically, you can expect front tyres on a front-wheel drive car to last a minimum of 20,000 miles, with normal driving conditions, while rear tyres may last around 40,000 miles.
How do I check tyre tread depth?
You can use either a tyre tread gauge, which can be bought cheaply onlne, or on an older-style 20p coin.
Insert the outer rim of the coin into the tread and if the outer rim is exposed, the tread is below the legal minimum.
How do I check tyre pressure?
You should check your tyre pressures weekly.
You can find the correct tyre pressures for your car in your handbook. There is also often a sticker with them on inside the fuel filler flap or on the driver's door edge.
To accurately measure the current pressure in your tyres you can use a handheld pressure gauge, a portable tyre inflator or an inflator at a fuel station or garage.
It is best to check them before making a journey, if possible, as tyre pressures rise slightly when the tyres are warm
Remove the dust cap from the tyre valve and push the connector firmly on - this should then give you a reading on the measuring device.
If you’re using an automatic device you simply set the tyre to the desired pressure and it will inflate until the correct reading has been achieved.
Don’t forget to replace the dust caps afterwards.
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brum on 22 December 2021
BBC reports over 6000 miles not 7000 miles. Don't embelish the facts. No report about whether tyres were actually legal (1.6mm+) or not. Many MOT testers advise tyres at near legal limit to drum up business. Mine failed MOT on brakes, with an advisory that tyres were near the legal limit, but on the retest they had magically grown to 4mm of tread.Why would a Mercedes fishtail? Aren't they front wheel drive?
This sad story should concentrate on the real reason, a drunk unskilled driver, aggressively driving a powerful car, probably at excessive speed in a dangerous manner for the road conditions and the limits of the car/tyres.
IrishNeil on 25 December 2021
Joe jones on 2 January 2022
Without more information its difficult to know what to think about this case. As Brum says we don't know whether the tyres were legal or not. I was advised about the condition of my tyres at the last MOT, but they were only 50% worn.I always thought it was the drivers responsibility to check the legal status of the car they are driving, if that's not the case, how does this case affect the owners of company cars, or lease cars.
On the face of it the fault for this accident is with the driver who was over the limit and was in charge of the car. It seems totally unfair to punish the driver just because he was a passenger at the time.
Youngtimer on 9 January 2022
Yes "Brum" - the BBC reported "over" 6000 miles.....7000 comes next correct? HJ didn't say 15,000 miles did they? That would certainly be embellishment.
MOT testers don't generally make false claims (they are regulated you know) re tyres to "drum up business" & it's well understood that running anything below 3mm isn't very wise.
In your case you didn't know or couldn't verify the tread depth yourself?
Mercedes are front wheel drive, really? Mercedes are historically known for their rear-wheel drive vehicles & occasionally AWD vehicles up until the 21st century. There are now a few FWD cars I believe in the A-B classes but they are still a predominantly RWD marque.
The real reason for the crash was exactly as you describe.....because you were there right?
You don't know anything about Mercedes engineering but you have a crystal ball when it comes to vehicle accidents?
Thanks for the brilliant bit of comedy & motoring knowledge...
Edited by Youngtimer on 09/01/2022 at 21:46
viago on 1 March 2022
i think that, despite the headlines, the tyres are a red herring.
as has already been pointed out, we are unable to form any conclusion on the state of the tyres or the car from this inadequate account.
purposely inadequate?
as for the merc, we have no clue to that either. i was given a courtesy 'a' series merc once whilst my v50 was in for repair. what a piece of junk.
no, the real crime here was the fact that the vehicle owner allowed a person whom he knew to be totally unfit to drive to use his car. he was aiding and abetting a crime even if no fatality or even a crash had taken place.
imho, a custodial sentence is right and proper and a good warning to all of us to be very careful about letting others use our vehicles.
ps. it's been a long time since i was at school but i seem to remember that that 6001 came after 6000.
my how things change.
Edited by viago on 02/03/2022 at 05:41
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