Maintaining your tires could potentially help you avoid uneven wear and poor performance. Possibly even a blowout that could cause a serious accident. Your tires will last much longer if properly maintained. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Tire Maintenance is Critical. Tire failures or blowouts are believed to contribute to over 400 deaths and 10,000 injuries in the United States every year. All of these injuries could easily be avoided. Simply maintain your tires.
Tire Maintenance is Critical – Why Check your Tires
Even with those figures being made public, the surprising factor is that statistics have shown some drivers still fail to follow the basic tire maintenance guidelines that could help to prevent such occurrences. These simple maintenance procedures only take a few minutes each week. They could save your life as well as thousands of dollars in damages. One way to determine if your tires need maintenance is to always look at your tires every time you get into the car. A fast glance will tell you if the tire is under inflated and need more attention. Get into the habit of checking your tires each time you drive the car and you will not usually be caught by surprise.
In addition to overloading, under-inflation or over inflation is one of the leading causes of tire failure. Simply put, this means putting too much air or not enough into the tires. Either of these can cause stress and excessive heat to be generated by the tires further weakening the tires, which can lead to tire problems and may even result in a blowout or a car crash.
Change in Temperature can Affect Your Tires
Many do not realize how much the change in outdoor temperature can actually affect a car, but it can. In fact, it can even affect the rate at which tires lose air and this is especially true during the warm spring and summer months. During a normal month, tires will lose approximately one or two pounds of pressure. In the warmer months, that number is even greater.
During the winter time, air contracts and tires can also lose air. When there is a cold snap I have noticed my cars tires losing more than 5 pounds pressure in a week.
The best way to avoid any tire-related mishap is to check your tire’s pressure every time you fill up your car’s fuel tank. At the very least, tire pressure should be checked once every month and prior to leaving for a long road trip. If you can check your tires every week even better. You will quickly get to know just how good your tires are at retaining their air pressure.
Get the Professionals to Check Your Tires
If you are uncomfortable checking the tires yourself, simply stop by the local auto repair shop and ask for assistance.
If you do have a blowout while driving, it is critical that you not panic and slam on the brakes. This may be the first instinct, but it is a very bad move and can cause you to lose control. In doing so, you may end up causing your car to swerve into the ditch or worse into oncoming traffic and potentially put you at risk for a much more serious accident. Instead, take your foot off the gas immediately. The car will begin to slow down and then you can gradually apply the break until you have regained control over the vehicle. At that time, slowly guide your car to a safe area as far away from the road as possible.
Tire Maintenance checks
The best way to avoid any type of tire failure is to take the appropriate steps to ensure they are in the best working condition possible. This would include
- Regular inspections and
- checking the air pressure often
- Change your tires if the tread is low
- Check the tread on your tires
- Check for any bulges, nails etc
- If your tire loses air regularly, have it inspected by a professional
- Have the correct tires installed on your car
- Always check your tires before a trip
- Always do a walk around your vehicle before driving, checking the tires and any obstacles that may be around your vehicle
With the proper maintenance, a potential problem can be diagnosed before it occurs and will help to ensure you and your family will arrive at your destination safely. It only takes a minute or two to perform the tire check and it could save your life and that of your family.
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January 18th, 2013 on 7:44 am
thanks for the tips about tire maintenance. they are expensive to replace, which i just learned the hard way. just spent $1000 to replace 4 tires.