Correctly maintained tires are critical to the safety of all members of the family, not to mention the safety of everyone else on the road. Is your vehicle – and your customers’ vehicles – ready for the summer?
Tire Facts
Did you know that when your vehicle is moving down the highway, the amount of each tire contact surface-to-the-highway is about the size of a post card or a dollar bill? This one statement should put everything in perspective for all of us. We propel millions of these heavy machines called automobiles on the highways every hour of the day and night and the control contact surface equals only a few inches or millimeters of rubber.
To begin with, the role of tires on the vehicle is:
• To provide vehicle acceleration and braking at the tire-to-road contact area
• To steer the vehicle predictability with control and precision
• To support the vehicle load
• To allow the vehicle to roll smoothly
Seems like a big job for those 4 round black rubber things we all have on our vehicles, doesn’t it?
And yet, according to the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA), 55% of vehicles on the road have at least 1 underinflated tire and 85% of people do not properly check tire pressure. Additionally, it reports 64% of drivers do not know how to check tire tread depth and 11% of vehicles, or approximately 28 million vehicles, could have one bald tire.
The cumulative estimate of vehicle miles of travel in the USA for year 2009 was more than 2.9 billion, so having properly maintained tires is a not an option but a safety must!
Doing Your P-A-R-T
It is essential that we all understand tire maintenance and its role in creating a safe environment for our families. (By the way, 65% of all vehicle maintenance is handled by women.)
The RMA provides education and guidelines for everyone on proper tire care and simply states that everyone who owns or drives a vehicle should do their P-A-R-T:
• Pressure: Underinflation is a tire’s #1 enemy. It results in unnecessary tire stress, irregular wear, possible loss of control and accidents. A tire can lose up to half of its air pressure and not appear to be flat! Make sure your tires are properly inflated.
• Alignment: Is your vehicle pulling to one side, or shaking? A bad jolt from hitting a curb or pothole can throw your front end out of alignment and damage your tires. Have a tire dealer check the alignment periodically to ensure that your car is properly aligned.
• Rotation: Promotes uniform tire wear. Regularly rotating your vehicle’s tires will help you achieve more uniform wear. Unless your vehicle owner’s manual has a specific recommendation, the guideline for tire rotation is approximately every 5,000 miles. Schedule your appointments for tire rotation and keep them.
• Tread: Measure it and inspect it. Advanced and unusual wear can reduce the ability of tread to grip the road in adverse conditions. Visually check your tires for uneven wear, looking for high and low areas or unusually smooth areas. Also, check for signs of damage. Visit your tire dealer regularly.
Keeping our families safe is part of everyday life, so…be tire smart and do your P-A-R-T.
Patricia Roberts is the director of business development for AskPatty.Com. She has over 39 years of experience in the automotive industry, including increasing the number of women who own and who work in dealerships.
