April 20th, 2010 by cheapcar

Car Tire Safety

Car tires are a vital component regarding the overall safety of road use. Unfortunately many people afford them little credit in this regard, and tend to view tires as “just there”. The fact of the matter is that tires are your contact with the road.

One of the most hazardous places you can be in, in your car, is in poor contact with the tarmac. Poor tire contact with the road, means that you have diminished input toward your ability to steer the vehicle.

This fact, highlights the danger you are in when you’re travelling at 60 or greater, as you have no way to prevent the car from piling straight into something.

You are responsible for your personal and anyone else’s life, within the vehicle you’re driving, including other road users, and this means you had better be sure that you have taken all the precautions you can, to prevent any problems caused by the tires of your car.

Contact with the driving surface involves a number of elements, we will now discuss, some are within your control and some are beyond it.

Tire Friction:

Most friction comes from the contact of rubber of the tire with the driving surface. The gravity acting on the mass of the vehicle, is the only thing that creates this contact with the driving surface, thus the greater the weight, the greater the friction between the road surface and your vehicle tires.

Although this is a desirable result, this can be highly undesirable when in the form of inertia, which occurs after the friction has been defeated. As in, if you have locked up the brakes, inertia is now greater with a heavier vehicle and requires more friction to stop it, which you would no longer have.

Tire Air pressure:

The air pressure in tires will change the attributes of the rubber by stretching it, so if a tire is overfilled it may lower the amount of friction available, as there is also much less surface area.

Tire Tread:

Tire tread affects the ability of the vehicle to make contact with the road surface. The grooves of the tread of your car tires, allows extraneous matter such as mud or snow somewhere to go other than between the tire rubber and the road surface. This lessens the “hydroplaning” effect that can be caused various elements of the weather, making driving conditions less than wonderful.

Making sure your tires are in good nick, with plenty of tread and correct air pressure, ensures maximum ability of your vehicle to grip the road, providing you with the control over the vehicle necessary to enable you to slow down and steer properly to avoid problems.

Always remember, car tires are your safety link to using the road, so look after your tires.

Please Read This: Car Tires – Safety Issue