There is a preventable tire condition that could kill or cripple you and others, and it can happen on a brand new tire.

Have you ever seen a tire that had blown out the side wall? It looks like the tire has exploded. I want you to visualize what happens when a tire’s sidewall completely fails. Lets say it’s on the front left side and it goes flat. Which way does the car go? Let’s also say you are on a two lane road and a car is coming toward you. In that split second could you hold the front end in your lane? How about if you were talking on the cell phone or eating a burger?

So what causes a tire’s side wall to fail? Most of the time it is running the tire seriously under inflated. I’m not talking about a couple of pounds low, but low enough for the tire to begin to flatten out on the road and cause the side walls to bulge. It’s the bulging that is the problem, because its is causing the sidewall to flex back and forth between normal at the top of the tire and bulging at the bottom. That constant flexing causes the rubber to over heat and breakdown the tire strength. The belting begins to break and with NO WARNING the tire instantly goes down.

I know we get in our routines and they don’t include safety checks, but if you were flying a plane you would never skip one.

What’s the difference in dying in a plane crash and a automobile crash? The time it takes to happen and the probability that if you are in a car, you are more likely to hit another car and injure or kill others. You may not be afraid of dying but everyone is afraid of becoming crippled.

A walk around your vehicle once every morning that included a visual check of your tires could save a serious accident, and might catch something else you needed to know about, like a new dent or bird poop that needs removing.

A tire gauge in your glove box can give you exact air pressure which can help save money on gas and make your tires last longer as well. You can find them at Wal-mart for a buck. All considered, a little added routine could pay off handsomely, and as always, knowledge is power.

Tags: Automotive, maintanance, tips, tire

This entry was posted on Monday, May 26th, 2008 at 9:13 pm and is filed under Automotive. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.