Do these cracks on my tires look bad?

Question

I know that the picture might not help but I need some help as I don’t know if these cracks look bad. I won’t be able to replace tires for a while so I was wondering if they will be good to drive on freeway a few times in the next two weeks

Answer 1

Your tires are nearly nine years old - a good rule of thumb is to replace tires at 6 years of age. And I'm sorry to say it but they don't look good - the big worry with cracks is the ones you can't see. The rubber will be degrading throughout the tire and this can lead to sudden and catastrophic failure when the tire comes apart.

Are they safe to drive? No. If it was a matter of a low-speed drive round to get them changed that's one thing, they are less likely to fail under such low stress and if they do you stand a good chance of getting things under control without hurting yourself or others. Freeway driving? No chance - too big a risk IMO.