It may not be something that you often think about, but the tire pressure in your car is one of the most important things you can stay on top of to help you avoid a Connecticut auto accident. In fact, tire pressure can be THE reason you get into an accident in the first place and if you’re not concerned with it you should be.
Extreme temperatures can cause serious harm to your tires and their air pressure. If you go into a day that is mild with properly pressurized tires and then the temperature drops you can lose serious pressure and your tires can become flat. Flat tires on cold, slippery roads can lead to more spin outs and less control for the driver of the car. That is why at the start of the winter you should make sure that your tires are slightly overfilled to account for the deflation that will come when the temperatures drop.
This same thing can be true in reverse when the winter months give way to warmer summer days and temperatures start creeping back up. Air pressure can grow in a tire due to extreme warmth and an overinflated tire can have similar implications on the safety of your driving experience. As the leaves start coming back on the trees and the weather starts to warm into the 60s and 70s you should be looking at your tires and making sure they are not overinflated. If they are overinflated, you should reduce the amount of air in them to the safe pressure for your particular tires.
If you’re not sure what pressure your tires should be inflated to you can check your car’s owners manual or in most cases the tires have the proper pounds per square inch (PSI) printed right on the side of the tire.
When you’re checking your tire pressure in either the winter months or the spring and summer months you may also want to take a moment to check the treads on your tires to ensure that they have proper treading. The other thing that makes your tires a hazard is by not having properly treaded tires. This can make it so that your tires do not give you the proper amount of traction on the road which can cause you to skid or slide through an intersection or into a turn and off the road.
Your tires are your one connection to the road between you and your car and having them properly inflated and treaded well can be the difference between arriving at your destination safely or getting into a Connecticut auto accident. If you are not sure how to measure the pressure and treads in your tire you should bring it to your local mechanic who can make sure that you are driving on safe tires and will arrive at your destination safely.
If you do not get your tires properly taken care of you may find yourself injured from an accident. When you’re in this situation you may need an experienced attorney to work with you to protect your long-term interests. Contact our office and one of our attorneys will speak with you.
