The Hazards Of Using Underinflated Tires
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently conducted a study to show the importance of having properly inflated tires. Their findings were somewhat shocking. They found that almost 1 in 20 crashes can be directly attributed to under inflated tires. This is a shocking number considering how easy it is to make sure your tire and wheel package are operating at the correct level of inflation. However, many people simply do not find the time to take this potentially life-saving step. Under inflation can greatly affect the performance of your ride, even if you have custom wheels like those offered by TSW wheels.
Wheel Condition
It is incredibly important that you monitor the conditions of your wheel and tire package. Tire problems are inherently dangerous and can cause very serious issues with vehicle safety. While it is obvious to tell when you have a flat or popped tire, it is less easy to determine if your tires are slightly under-inflated. The fact of the matter is, under-inflated tires pose a great risk every time you go out on the road with them. The wheels are not able to perform as they should unless the pressure in the tires is where it needs to be.
Problems
Even if a tire is only 25% under-inflated, which doesn’t sound like a lot, that can cause a car to be up to three times more likely to be involved in an accident. Having low tire pressure decreases the ability of a vehicle even in the most ideal conditions. However, when it rains or snows, having low tire pressure can become even more hazardous. If you need to swerve out of the way of something, or perform an emergency maneuver, you could easily lose control of your vehicle and crash.
Regulations
Industry regulators have been studying and paying much closer attention to tire safety. Another problem, besides under-inflation, is wear accumulated on tires. In these difficult economic times, it is easy for people to begin to ignore issues with their cars that seem to be working fine. “My tires worked yesterday, why wouldn’t they work today?” This kind of thinking can be very dangerous in the long run. The further you go with worn down tires, the more likely you are to experience a crash.
New Mandate
Congress has just passed a new law that says that all cars and trucks must be equipped with a tire-pressure monitoring system. These systems are supposed to make it easy for automobile owners to check their tire pressure more regularly. It is a great tool, however, it only works if the person is willing to use it. Most people feel they are too busy to be bothered to check for things on their cars and trucks that they take for granted.
The amount of pressure in your tires can have a great impact on how well your car or truck performs. If you are going to get a customized rim and wheel package for your ride, it is important to remember that you will need to know how to maintain the proper level of inflation. Having a great set of Beyern or TSW wheels is great, but they will not perform to their capabilities if their tires are not properly inflated.