Your vehicle’s safety on the roads is paramount, and a large part of that comes from having good quality tyres on the car. The tyres are the single part of your vehicle that is in contact with the road, and if your tyres are in poor condition, it does not really matter how well maintained the rest of the car is when it comes to staying safe. Here are five car tyre safety tips that will ensure that you have a problem-free drive when you are out and about on the roads.
Check Tyres Often
Make it a habit to look over your tyres fortnightly, or monthly as a minimum. Your vehicle should always be reasonably clean, so you can easily see any signs of punctures, sidewall weakness or other damage to your wheels and tyres. Punctures can be deceptive, sometimes looking like a small dark dot, while frays and tears can be very deep or quite shallow. If in doubt, take your car to your mechanic and allow them to assess the damage. Once the damage is spotted, drive your car as little as possible if you must drive it at all, and get the tyres changed promptly.
Maintain a Sensible Tread Depth
The legal tread depth for your tyres is 1.6mm, but many mechanics and garages recommend not allowing your tyres to wear past 3mm of tread depth. You can monitor your tread depth very easily with a twenty-pence piece. Simply stand the 20p coin up in the deepest part of the tread and see how much of the narrow band running around the outer perimeter of the coin is visible. The ideal answer is ‘none’, so if you can see any part of that band, make an immediate appointment to have your tyres replaced.
Optimum Tyre Pressure
Older drivers on the roads can remember when they were advised to let down their tyres slightly in order to get a good grip on the road, or slightly over-inflate them under other conditions. This is now not recommended at all, under any conditions. This is because modern tyres are designed to be used at the correct inflation – to the point that this is now part of the annual MOT test.
Repair or Replace
Finally, keeping a close eye on your tyres, and had repairs done when necessary, there will come a time when you know that your tyres really do need to be replaced. Do not rush to buy the first set of tyres you see for sale, talk to experts at Ossett Tyre House for tyres in Pontefract for instance.
Wheel Balance and Alignment
Ensure your tyres are aligned and balanced properly, asking your service station to perform the service whenever your vehicle is with them. A well-balanced and aligned wheel will offer the vehicle less wear and tear than a poorly aligned alternative.
