When you own a car all the checklists, regulations, requirements and even laws can seem overwhelming. But there are some small, but very significant, things that should never be neglected if you can help it. One of these items is your tyres, which are, after all, the only point of contact that your car has with the road. Let’s check out five ways that regular tyre checks can improve your car’s safety while out and about on the roads, no matter if you are exploring Scotland, working in Essex or enjoying some downtime elsewhere in the UK’s many beauty spots.
It Picks Up Small Discrepancies
Regular tyre checks will mean that you are well acquainted with what your tyres should look like when they are in good condition, which in turn means that should something occur, you will easily spot the difference and be able to take a closer look at the issue to decide if it is something serious, like signs of damage or a puncture, or something superficial, like a small twig wedged in the treads or a bit of mud disguising itself as a sidewall bulge.
Prevents Blow-Outs
These regular checks will almost certainly pick up any severe damage to your tyres, enabling you to get the tyre fixed or replaced before you drive it under testing condition and perhaps suffer a blowout, which can be catastrophic at high speeds, and is a major inconvenience even when it is easily managed. If you are travelling around Scotland and you are not sure which tyre shop to choose for replacing your tyres; Fife Autocentre offers a full range of tyres in Stirling. You can order them online with no hidden charges.
Ensures Proper Tyre Alignment
Regular checks on your tyres will ensure that you are more aware of the performance of your tyres when you drive. This will be an unconscious thing – rather like clothing sales people starting to notice the hang of other people’s clothing, or cleaners spotting dusty skirtings in their friends’ houses (and of course, never mentioning this!) – but the end result will be a good one: it will have a positive effect on your driving expectations, and you will be more likely to ask your mechanic to check the tyre alignment and wheel balance at your services. Properly aligned tyres help your car to stay in great shape for longer and this keeps everyone on the roads safer.
Ensures Proper Inflation
Another benefit of these regular checks will be that you will notice when your steering seems sluggish, or the tyres take a moment to respond to your steering wheel’s commands to turn. This can be because your tyres have deflated past the point recommended by your tyre manufacturer’s guidelines – which are so important that they have become enshrined in law: correct tyre inflation was added to the MOT checklist in 2018, when it was realised just how much difference correct inflation could make to a car’s safety on the road, especially at speed.
You Will Notice Damage Sooner
Most tyre-caused accidents happen when tyres are neglected and become so damaged and worn that they disintegrate violently under the pressure of being driven on busy roads – and the faster the road, the more likely it is that a damaged tyre won’t hold up, and the more likely that the blow-out or puncture will cause anything from mild inconvenience to serious disruption to the other drivers all around you. Spotting small signs of damage and changing your tyres or having the problem repaired is the perfect way to completely avoid having to deal with serious (potentially expensive) tyre damage at awkward or even dangerous times.
