We might be getting ready to mark Valentine's Day on Friday, but TyreSafe is promoting something else we should love other than our better halves – our bike tyres!

The tyre standards information group has dubbed February as 'Love Your Tyres' month – a light-hearted campaign to remind everyone to prioritise regular tyre checks.

It's a timely intervention as a recent survey by the RAC found that only a third (33%) of motorists check their vehicle's tyre tread at least once a month – the minimum recommendation by road safety experts.

TyreSafe says this concerning statistic highlights the real need for heightened awareness about tyre safety and maintenance.

It's a real problem for motorists of all kinds, with National Highways reporting over 50,000 breakdowns on the UK's A roads and motorways each year alone linked to tyre issues.

TyreSafe's latest campaign encourages everyone to 'ACT' on tyre safety, focusing on three simple yet vital areas:

• Air pressure: highlighting the need to keep tyres adequately inflated to ensure optimal performance and fuel efficiency.
• Condition: urging motorists to inspect their tyres regularly for any signs of damage, such as cuts, bulges, or other issues that might compromise safety.
• Tread: stressing the importance of maintaining sufficient tread depth for effective grip and braking.

For bikers, the condition of our tyres is doubly important. Defective tread or incorrect pressure makes them less efficient at gripping the road, increases the chance of a skid and they won't drain away surface water effectively.

As a reminder:

Check tyres for bulges, cuts and scrapes. If there is a deep gouge in the rubber, or a bulge, replace them. It is a sign the tyre may fail any time soon.

It is also important to check the tyre tread. Tread ensures a tyre stays in contact with the road during wet conditions. We need to know the minimum legal limit for our size of motorcycle.

• The legal limit of tyre tread depth in the UK for motorcycles over 50cc is 1mm across ¾ of the width of the tread pattern and with visible tread on the remaining ¼.
• For motorcycles up to 50cc the law requires that all the grooves of the original tread pattern must be clearly visible.

To check your tread, check out the tyre wear indicators. These are included in the tyre design, inside the treads. They give a good indication of how worn your tyre is. When the wear is close to the wear indicators, it means that the tyre needs to be changed.

They can be hard to spot at first, so manufacturers usually carve markers into the tread. Michelin tyres, for example, have little 'Michelin Man' markings on the rubber. They are there to indicate the location of wear indicators.

Have a look at your tyres now and see if you can spot the tyre wear indicators. If you can't, Google the type of tyre and ask for more information on where they can be found.

Investing in your own tyre depth gauge is a good idea, too.

Check the tyre pressure, too. Your bike handbook will tell you what the pressure is meant to be. Check and top up regularly.

The tyres are the only thing gripping the road: look out for them.