Don't get caught with too little rubber on the road

The lack of serious attention to road safety by motorists and other key stakeholders, especially during the holiday season, poses a serious threat to the South African economy, rendering efforts to battle increasing deaths on our roads futile. The level of roadworthiness of vehicles on our roads is a major contributing factor and the condition of tyres on many vehicles on the road is appalling. Due to the fact that worn and under inflated tyres are major contributing factors to road accidents, this is one of the key factors taken into consideration by Insurers in the event of a claim. An Insurance company has the right to repudiate a claim, whether or not the insured was at fault, on the grounds of negligence if it is found that the tread of any of the tyres on the insured vehicle is below the permissible minimum to qualify as roadworthy. Here are basic guidelines to assist motorists in ensuring that their tyres are properly maintained:

Tyre Condition

• Tyres should be checked for damage on a regular basis and any foreign bodies embedded in the treads must be removed.
• When you have no option but to drive over a curb or similar obstacle do so very slowly and as close to right angles as possible to avoid damaging your tyres and wheels.
• If you have reason to believe that your tyre is damaged in any way have it checked by an authorised tyre dealer.
• Keep tyres free of oil, fuel and grease.
• If one of the dust caps on your tyres goes missing replace as soon as possible.
• To ensure that the wheels rotate in the same direction when being replaced, mark the tyres before removing them.
• Tyres not on wheels should be stored in a vertical position in a dark, dry, cool area.

Extending tyre life:

• Always inflate all the tyres, including the spare, to the highest pressure required on the vehicle. Apart from detracting from vehicle handling ability tyre pressures that are either too high or too low will decrease the life of the tyres.
• Check tyre pressures every two weeks and before embarking on a long journey. The desired pressure of the spare wheel will be reflected on the sidewall.
• Tyre pressures should be checked while tyres are cold.
• Avoid harsh braking, fast cornering and hard acceleration as this increases tyre wear.
• If you detect any steering vibration it is a sign that the wheel balancing is out and the wheels require balancing.
• Incorrect wheel alignment impairs the safe handling of the vehicle and causes excessive, usually uneven tyre wear.
• Although the legal minimum tread is lower it is recommended that tyres be replaced when the tread reaches 3mm.

Not only for the sake of car insurance claims but because you owe it to yourself, your family and other road users ensure that the tyres on your vehicle will pass any roadworthy test and will not detract from your ability to react in a hazardous situation.