Preventing car accidents in White plains or any area in the country requires year-round vehicle maintenance. That is one of the first and most necessary steps to ensure road safety. Hot weather could damage a car, and the same goes for the cooler months.
Authorities encourage all drivers to implement the necessary measures that will maintain their vehicles all year round. Conducting car upkeep will help prevent serious road injuries.
A study showed that around 11,000 annual crashes in the country are due to tire failure. The tires are an essential part of any vehicle. Driving a car with worn-out tires will be a liability on any road. That is why it is important to have the tires checked for signs of wear and tear.
Here are three areas of a vehicle’s tires that a driver must regularly check to avoid a car accident on the road. In case of a car accident, make sure to get more informed about White Plains car accident lawyer practices and how they can help you.
Tire Tread
The rubber that grooves along the circumference of a tire is what people refer to as the tire tread. The tire tread creates contact with the surface of a road. The depth of the grooves will determine the much-needed ability of a tire to grip the road circumference of a tire ad during dry and wet conditions.
When using the car repeatedly, the tire tread will eventually wear down. In effect, that will limit the efficiency of a tire to provide traction. To check the health of a vehicle’s tire tread, a driver could use a penny. The driver will just have to place the coin within the tire’s deepest tread, with Abraham Lincoln’s face towards him. Should the driver see the entire profile of Lincoln’s head, then the tire needs replacement.
Mechanics call tires with low tread depths as bald tires. Such bald tires no longer have a good grip, making a drive down a road that is wet from either rain or snow very challenging. Vehicles with bald tires or low tire tread are at a higher risk of skating or hydroplaning on wet roads than cars with high tire tread.
Road Accidents
Road accidents continue to be a major reason for deaths and permanent disabilities in our country. Tire being the only contact between the car and the ground becomes an area of concern, but unfortunately, drivers and car owners do not care for the tire of their vehicle as they care for the car engine, radiator system, etc. Most people do not fully appreciate the important role good and suitable tires play in the safe operation of their cars.
In spite of all the high-tech electronics controlling vehicles handling capabilities and stability, its four tires provide the contact points on a roadway’s surface that ultimately control the amount of slipping and sliding that can take place. Car accidents originating from tires may be because of pressure or wear.
Maintaining correct inflation pressure in tires helps to keep vehicle handling and braking at its best, as well as improving fuel efficiency and tire life. It also prevents such events as separations and tire blow-outs which may cause loss of control of a vehicle and crashes. Tires are specified by the vehicle manufacturer with a recommended inflation pressure, which permits safe operation within the specified load rating and vehicle loading. Wear in tires also contribute to these car accidents. Tires play so many roles in the safety of a car; they can prevent a car accident and at the same time can cause car accidents.
The Role of Car Tires in Accident
Tires can play a large role in auto accidents if they are defective or worn. Worn tires skid on wet roadways more than newer ones, increasing the risk of a blow-out, which could lead to a serious car accident. Other factors that come into play are the cases of warmer temperatures and the amount of pressure on a tire is more than the inflation pressure in the tire, putting drivers at serious risk of danger from a blow-out. The causes of the tire defects will be discussed under the following: Structural damage and Road performance of the tire
What to Check on Tires?
In 1999, an estimated 9,500 people died unnecessarily because they were not wearing seat belts, and over a thousand due to exploding tires. As more and more Americans hit roadways and increase highway congestion this busy summer season, experts remind consumers to slow down and follow these tips to keep car accidents to a minimum.
Tire Pressure
The numerical notation of a tire’s air pressure is what engineers call tire pressure. Every automobile has certain kinds of tires apt for it. The tires, in turn, have particular PSI values that the makers recommend.
When the tire pressure falls short of the recommended PSI value, drivers will experience a sluggish acceleration and a decrease in fuel economy. Low tire pressure will put the driver and the passengers at a higher risk of car accidents due to a tire blowout.
Tire age
Determining the date of manufacture of a tire is also valuable. Often, one can find the tire age on the wall of every tire. To identify the date accurately, one should know that the first two numbers imprinted on the wall refer to the particular weeks of the year when the tire was made. Following that are two numbers referring to the production year of the tire.
Tires commonly have a shelf life of around 6 to 10 years or roughly 60,000 miles. More visible physical attributes of an aging tire include cracks on its tread and wall, a pale color tone, and frequent loss of air that results in low tire pressure.
Takeaway
The key to preventing vehicular accidents is subjecting one’s car to year-round maintenance. If there is a mechanical part that doesn’t seem to work the way it should, then it is best to schedule an appointment with the local dealer or auto shop for a check-up.
As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. Hence, maintaining one’s car should be a priority to prevent any car accidents that could cause serious injuries. It is better to avoid such incidents that require vehicle restorations, just compensations for the injured, and the legal services of attorneys.
Attorney Greg La Sorsa has distinguished himself as a top trial attorney in the field of personal injury and medical malpractice, first developing his skills at the prestigious Garbarini & Scher, where he was mentored by some of the top trial attorneys in New York City. He was recognized as having one of the top jury verdicts in New York State in 2018 by Top Verdicts. He is known for his passionate and empathetic representation of clients. Greg founded La Sorsa & Beneventano in 1995. LaSorsa & Beneventano played a major role in the field of No-Fault Asset Recovery, recovering on over $40,000,000.00 of unpaid no-fault insurance claims on behalf of medical providers.
About the Author- Attorney Greg la Sorsa
