As I write this, we’re in the middle of the 10th annual National Tire Safety Week (June 5-11, 2011), sponsored by the Rubber Manufacturers Association. The RMA’s website includes lots of good information on tire safety, seasonal driving tips, info on how to take care of your tires, and much more. It also features these interesting facts.* Take a look… 

1) Only 15% of drivers properly check their tire pressure, despite the fact that 75% recognize that maintaining proper tire pressure can result in improved fuel efficiency.

2) 62% of drivers don’t know where to find the correct inflation pressure for their vehicle’s tires. 53% say it’s listed on the tire sidewall, while 14% do not know at all.

3) 43% of drivers don’t know that tires should be checked “cold” – before driving.

4) 52% of drivers don’t know how to tell if their tires are bald.

5) Nearly 7 out of 10 drivers do not check the pressure in their spare tire.

Here are the RMA’s recommendations:

1) Tire inflation pressure should be checked at least once a month.

2) Check the pressure when your tires are cold or haven’t been driven for at least three hours. As tires roll, they warm up. That causes the pressure to increase, which could give an inaccurate reading of actual tire pressure.

3) Inflate your tires to the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended pressure, NOT the pressure listed on the tire sidewall. The correct pressure can be found in your owner's manual or on the vehicle’s driver side door.

If longer service life and improved fuel economy are not good enough reasons to check your tire pressure once a month, consider that each year about 23,000 tow-away crashes result from blowouts or flat tires, and that more than 600 fatalities and 33,000 injuries are attributed to under-inflated tires. (Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.)

Protect yourself, your family, and your fellow drivers: Pull into any Mountain View Tire location and we’ll be happy to check and fill your tires free of charge.

(* The RMA-sponsored survey was conducted by FrederickPolls and has a margin of error of 3%. One thousand drivers nationwide were surveyed in March 2011.)

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Properly Inflated Tires Are Now the Law