Summer is in full swing (in between all the rain) and you might be on the count down to your two precious weeks of holiday, complete with the whole family, up to and including the dog. But before you activate your out-of-office message and engage your holiday brain, here are five top tyre tips for your safety this summer.
Make Sure You Have All-Weather or Summer Tyres Fitted
Winter tyres are great in winter, when temperatures are regularly below 7°C, but they become less effective the hotter the temperature becomes. And driving on baking hot motorways for hours in the wrong tyres can be more than an inconvenience. Winter tyres are incredibly soft and wear away very readily, even in cooler temperatures and in the heat of summer they can literally melt away, leaving you in a sticky mess at the side of the road, with – potentially – damaged rims for your emergency tyre fitter to do his best with. If you’re not sure which tyres you have fitted – or if they are coming close to needing to be replaced, Reg Greenwood retails top-quality tyres in Knottingley from the leading brands. Book yours online now.
Be Aware of More People on the Roads
It’s summer and suddenly the roads seem to be packed with so many other cars! Well, yes, like you, many others also enjoy their annual holiday in August, and the UK’s road network good-temperedly soaks up a few thousand extra cars each day. However, some of these drivers will be new to driving; others will find the roads unfamiliar as they travel to unknown places, and still others will be impatient with the crowds. Allow for all of these, and make sure you check your brakes for sharp responsiveness and that your tyres have excellent grip, even on uneven or poorly maintained roads.
Tread Depth
Summer in the UK can be beautiful: long, balmy days filled with warm sunshine, and only a few puffy white clouds in the sky to remind you of that weather phenomenon known as rain. But it can also be horrendous, transforming from a halcyon day to one with black storm-clouds overhead and pouring rain obscuring visibility! Ensure your tyre’s have a good amount of tread depth left on them so they can cope with any amount of standing water on the road, keeping your tyres in contact with the road and preventing skids and slips.
The Heat Can Affect Your Tyre Inflation
Just as you can be affected by the heat, with swollen ankles and hands, so too can your tyres. The excess heat can make the air in your tyres expand, leading to overinflation, which can in turn make your tyres more prone to blow-outs and punctures. Check your pressure daily if the temperatures are considerably different to the norm.
Drive Carefully on Unknown Roads
While you probably know every corner and twist on your daily commute, your route to your holiday destination is likely to be less familiar. Always travel at a safe speed, keep your eyes open for debris, sharp stones, or potholes on the road – and if you are going at a sensible speed you should be able to avoid these, with luck.
Keep Up Your Regular Checks
Just because you are on holiday this does not mean that you should neglect your regular tyre checks, looking for signs of dents, bumps, dimples, cracks and missing chunks of rubber – spotting these early, even while you are on holiday, will help you to head off major problems quickly, before they can negatively affect your holiday.