Avoid Car Accidents By Checking Your Tyres Properly.

By David Halbert

Are you planning a skiing holiday, and plan to hire a car? If the skiing vacation is planned to be somewhere in Europe then the car must have winter tyres fitted on them. Even if the vacation is planned to be spent in UK, make sure that the car that is hired is fitted with winter tyres.

Tyre manufacturers now use advances techniques of making winter tyres. Now, the winter tyres that are on the market have softer rubber used in them. This allows the tyre to get firm traction on the road surface. When cars were mostly rear wheel driven most customers thought that using winter tyres on the rear wheels was sufficient to provide the necessary traction on icy and snow covered roads. Also, nowadays some people feel that front wheel driven cars only need winter tyres on the front wheels. Both these beliefs are incorrect!

All four tyres of the car need to be fitted with winter tyres on them. Also, the tread, size, and state of the winter tyres should be identical. As much as traction is necessary on wet and slippery roads, so is the ability to get the car to stop. When brakes are applied, all the four wheels are forced to stop, and if a few of the tyres are dissimilar then the car can swerve out of control. The cause is that the brake pressure will not be even.

Temperatures in winter can lower suddenly and the weather can be very random. So, nobody wants to get trapped on the road with defective tyres. Remember, clearing snow off the road takes time and all the roads do not get cleared of snow and ice at once. So why take a risk? Just being cautious on the outset can save a lot of headaches later on. More incidents occur in winters than in summers, so being careful always helps.

Tell the company you are getting the car from where you are going to spend your skiing vacation and make sure that the car they are going to provide you is fitted with winter tyres. When picking the car up, ensure all the tyres are winter tyres and are in similar conditions. If you are not sure of the tyres, it is a good idea to take the car to a tyre shop and get their opinion. Now what some people usually forget the spare tyre. Check that also, and make sure it is also a winter tyre.

Talk to any tyre shop mechanic regarding the tyre pressure to be maintained, and ensure that the needed tyre pressure is maintained. Look at the tyres pressure regularly as the higher you go the more rarefied the air gets. Winter tyres appear a little thinner than summer tyres, and this is a result of their having a wider traction and not because they are under filled.

Many ski resorts are on subsidiaries of the main roads, and the chances of having to drive on snow covered and ice topped roads is very high. With the correct tyres there will be no issues during driving on these road surfaces, and odds of the car going out of control or skidding will be removed.

Other than the tyres, it is also important to ensure that the car's brakes are in perfect condition. A slight tap on slippery surfaces with faulty brakes can cause the car to go out of control. So, do check the brakes. When driving on icy or snow covered roads, use the gear to slow down and maintain traction. Use the brakes as little as possible. - 20605

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