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Tire Safety and Aging: Precautions you can take to keep yourself and your family safe

April 27, 2010 Posted in Auto Accidents, Defective Products Tagged in legal Share

While most drivers are well aware of the inherent dangers of driving a vehicle on Florida’s roadways, far fewer realize that a substantial number of crashes are caused by improperly maintained or defective tires. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that more than 6000 motor vehicle accident occur annually as a result of these issues. Listed below are some suggestions from the Rubber Manufactures Association to help prevent this type of incident from occurring.

Maintain proper tire pressure – Improper tire pressure results in unnecessary tire stress, irregular wear, loss of control and accidents.

Keep your tires aligned - Have a tire dealer check the alignment periodically to ensure that your car is properly aligned.

Regularly rotate your tires - Unless your vehicle owner's manual has a specific recommendation, the guideline for tire rotation is approximately every 5,000 miles.

Inspect for tread wear - Advanced and unusual wear can reduce the ability of tread to grip the road in adverse conditions. Visually check your tires for uneven wear, looking for high and low areas or unusually smooth areas.

You should also pay careful attention to the age of your tires. Just because a tire is purchased “new” does not mean it is safe for use.  It could have been sitting in storage for a very long time. To check the manufacture date of your tires, look for the last four digits in the DOT code located on the sidewall of the tire. Those numbers represent the week and year your tire was made. Safety experts recommend replacing a tire that is more than six years old.