You are responsible for taking care of your own vehicle, and the failure take care of your vehicle creates a dangerous situation for yourself and every other driver on the road. Tires are the part of your car that are the most likely to fail and cause issues on the road, and it is important that you take the time to maintain your tires correctly. There are three things that you need to do to ensure that your times are safe and that you are not a danger to other drivers.
Inflation
The simplest thing that you can check is the tire inflation. Most tires need to be inflated to 35psi, and when they are over or above that number, the tire will suffer structural damage. Under inflation causes the tires to compress and expand as they roll along the road. Each time there is a change to the shape of the tire, it weakens the sidewalls and that causes the tire to lose its shape. Over time sidewall damage becomes more and more extensive and there will come a point when the damage is so great that the tire will blowout. If this happens while you are on the highway, you will lose control of the vehicle and you run the risk of causing a fatal accident. Over inflation causes the tires to balloon and be more susceptible to external damage. In both cases, all you need to do is take a minute or two and use a tire gauge on each tire to ensure that they are at the right pressure.
Rotation
Tire rotation is something that a lot of people forget about and something they do not consider as part of their regular tire maintenance. The tires on your care wear at different speeds, usually with the tires in the front wearing out faster than the tires in the back. The way to avoid this is to rotate the tires so that all of the tires are going through the same level of erosion at the same time. Doing this will help to prevent things like slow leaks and premature wear. When one tire begins to have more damage than the others, the rest of the tires naturally compensate to help even things out, which only leads to even more issues down the line. When you take your car in for an oil change, ask about tire rotation and extend the life of your tires.
Change
There will come a time when it is no longer possible to use the tires the way that they are, and you will have to change them. Most of the time you will get the best deal when you buy all four tires at once, which is why keeping your tires wearing evenly is so important. When you go in to have your tires changed think about your driving patterns and how often you usually need to change your tires. If you are just a light driver, then you can go with tires that have a shorter suggested life, as you are likely to need to change the tires again before you hit the mileage limit; however, if you are a heavy driver, investing in high quality tires from the beginning is your very best bet. Spending an extra twenty dollars a tire now is much better than having to buy a full new set of tires in just a few months because your tire tread is worn out.
As a responsible driver, taking care of your tires is one of the most important things that you can do to make sure that you are safe and that the other drivers around you are safe as well. There are several things that you have to do to keep your tires in tip-top shape, and each of them takes very little time.
I am Lauren Boseman, and I wrote this article after my son was seriously injured in an auto accident involving a blowout. I learned about the importance of tire safety and what drivers need to do to keep themselves and others protected. When I looked into things like cheap tires in Lancaster PAI came across Hurst Tire Service (www.hursttireservice.com). I was impressed by their willingness to talk to me about tire safety and their level of service when I went in to have new tires put on my car. I highly recommend them to anyone looking for new tires.