YOUNG DRIVERS AND TYRE SAFETY
Getting your first car is an exciting, memorable milestone in your life! Owning your first vehicle is a lot of fun, but it also comes with a big responsibility. When you are driving, you are responsible for yourself, passengers and vehicles around you. It’s important that you understand how to change your tyres in the case of an emergency, and how to maintain them to prevent it from happening often.
Your tyres are one of the most important parts of your car to understand and look after! Without good tyres, and good maintenance, your car will be unsafe, and possibly out of action.
Before you get your first set of wheels, here’s what you need to know:
All Tyres Will Lose Pressure
It doesn’t matter if your first car is brand new, or used – all tyres will lose pressure over time. It’s important to have a routine where you check your tyre pressure. Next time you fill up your car with petrol, check the tyres, and fill them with the air pressure recommended for your vehicle. If one tyre has less pressure than the others, there’s a chance it has a slow leak in it, and it should be repaired as soon as possible. Under inflation or over inflation, makes for an uneven drive, damages your tyres and may have you ending up with a flat tyre. It’s definitely not worth the risk.
Check Your Tread Depth
A lot of people don’t realise that your tread depth is just as important when maintaining your tyres. In New Zealand, the minimum tyre tread depth is 1.5mm. To check, go to your local tyre dealer or use a tyre depth gauge to ensure your tyres are both safe, and legal. If they are approaching the legal minimum, then you need to plan to get them replaced.
Keep Your Tyres Legal
It might be tempting to make your vehicle look flash with larger tyres, expensive rims or other accessories, but just remember, there are serious fines for having illegal tyres, and furthermore, you are putting yourself and others on the road at risk. Your vehicle will also fail its Warrant of Fitness (WoF) if the tyres are not considered to be in legal condition.
Don’t Skip Aligning Your Tyres
Young drivers are usually on a budget, but that doesn’t mean you can replace tyres yourself and forgo getting your wheels aligned. If you do, it will actually cost you a lot of money in the long run and your car won’t be performing at its best. Aligning your wheels means you won’t have uneven wear and tear on your tyres and you’ll have a much smoother ride.
Drive to the Condition to Avoid Extra Tyre Wear and Tear
Sudden braking, driving too fast and not watching the road for lumps and bumps are sure-fire ways to burn out your tyres. Driving to the condition is not only essential for safety, but also to avoid costly repairs or replacements on your tyres. Always keep an eye out for road hazards and drive to the condition to keep your tyres maintained.
Check and Replace Your Tyres at Drury Tires
Drury Tires have grown to become one of the biggest automotive tyre outlets in South Auckland. As a family business, we pride ourselves on having the experience and knowledge on tyres to give young people the best possible service at the lowest price. We are happy to provide you with high quality tyres and discuss ways in which you can look after them yourself, so you can have safe, smooth driving for longer! Contact us today or chat to us online.