PSA: Tire Safety

As a member of BzzAgent I've been asked to highlight some safety information about tires. Michelin tires is sponsoring the campaign, and they have a lot of great features, like the monthly Rotation e-newsletter.

Here are some quick facts about tire safety:
- 27% of passenger cars and 32% of pickup trucks, SUV’s and minivans have at least one significantly underinflated tire*
- 9% of tires on the road are bald*
- A tire can lose as much as 50% of its inflation pressure and not appear to be flat
- Inflation pressure in a tire goes up (in warm weather) or down (in cold weather) 1 – 2 pounds for every 10 degrees of temperature change

- Always inflate your tires to the recommended pressure listed by your vehicle’s manufacturer — you can find this number on a decal on the doorpost, in the glove compartment, in the owner’s manual or trunk lid
- DO NOT inflate your tires to the pressure listed on the tire’s sidewall unless your vehicle is at maximum load carrying capacity
- Check inflation pressure only when the tires are cool — meaning they are not hot from even driving just one mile
- Replace worn or damaged valve stems then replace the valve cap when you’re done
- Check your tire pressure at least monthly and before long trips

We know about low tire pressure. A few weeks ago our tire pressure light came on. It turned out to just be a valve stem that needed replacement, but then last week the light came on again. We were really annoyed, but this time it was a new tire. So we had them replace the other two tire valves as well, since we just don't want to hassle with it again!