Tyre Maintenance is Critical to Safe Driving
Long weekends, road trips to favorite fishing spots or summer cottages suggest long traveling distances, overloaded vehicles and high tyre temperatures. Add low tyre pressure, found in 30 percent of all cars and light trucks, and a potentially dangerous situation develops.
Your tyres, vehicles and family are at risk
Tyres play a crucial role in the safety of a vehicle. As the only part of the car that physically touches the ground, tyres are one of the key factors affecting a vehicle's handling and overall safety. "Proper tyre inflation and maintenance can extend tyre life, increase fuel efficiency and improve vehicle safety.
Long intervals of high-speed driving with low tyre pressure, excess vehicle weight and high temperatures cause additional flexing and stress on the sidewalls and can lead to tyre failure. In addition, tyres with low pressure wear more quickly, degrade the vehicle's handling, lower the vehicle's load-carrying ability and increase fuel consumption. In a worst-case scenario, under inflated tyres can lead to a catastrophic blowout or tread separation.
The facts suggest that a largely unseen and potentially dangerous problem exists for drivers:
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found 27 percent of passenger cars and 33 percent of light trucks (including sport utility vehicles, vans and pick up trucks) are driven with one or more substantially under inflated tyres.
- The American Automobile Association (AAA) responded to approximately 3.48 million calls related to tyre problems in 2000. AAA says tyres are one of the most important features of a motor vehicle, and regrettably one that is often overlooked by motorists.
- A Consumer Reports study evaluated air pressure loss in 109 all-season passenger car tyres over a six-month period. These included 36 tyre models from 18 major brands. The results showed that all tires leaked some air, from 3 pounds per square inch (psi) in some models to 8 psi in others.
- NHTSA estimated 23,000 crashes and 535 fatal crashes annually involve blowouts or flat tires.
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