Do You Need New Tires?

Car tires are typically rated to last anywhere from about 40,000 miles and up.  Some performance tires are much lower, while other tires are built for long-lasting wear. Do you need new tires?  In addition to checking out the tread wear indicators (TWIs; if the bars between treads are the same height as treads, you definitely need new tires!), the old coin tests also work well.

Most tires start out with between 8/32 and 10/32 of an inch of tire tread depth. To help deal with such small increments of measurement, certain tire tread depth and tire wear indicator tests were developed for the average person to be able to check their tires.

Believe it or not, coins are great tire wear indicator. For example, just about everyone knows the tire tread depth “penny test.” Tires need to be looked over periodically to measure tread depth, and the penny test is fine in a pinch. It is done by holding a penny heads-up, upside-down and sticking it into the deepest part of the tire tread. If the tread comes up to the top of Abe Lincoln’s head, it means the tire still has 2/32” of useable tread, the legal minimum in most states.

There is also a quarter test that shows when the tread is safer (for hyrdroplaning. etc.).  

Similar to the “penny test,” the “quarter test” is a tire tread depth test that’s done by holding a quarter upside-down and sticking George Washington’s head into the deepest part of the tire tread depth. If tread covers Washington’s head, this shows that the tire has at least 4/32” of tread left and is still perfectly useable. Performance will not be as good as new tires would be when driving over standing water or in other adverse conditions, but it is not as severely compromised as it could be. In terms of tire wear indicators, if your tires pass the “quarter test,” the tire tread depth should still be relatively safe.

Read more here:

http://www.thetirechoice.com/learning-center/tire-tread-depth-tests.aspx

Deer Whistles: Ineffective, but what to do?

As summer winds down, many of us are on the road.  Please let us know if you do anything more than this article mentions to help prevent deer accidents.

Deer whistles, mounted on the fronts of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, allegedly produce ultrasonic frequencies and/or audible sounds from the wind rushing through them. These sounds are supposed to repel or warn animals, particularly deer, elk, moose and dogs, of oncoming vehicles.

Even if the devices were effective, they would soon become clogged with insects and dirt (since they are mounted on the front of the vehicle) and would stop working.

The state police in Ohio, after months of testing, found no significant decrease in patrol car/deer accidents after the warning devices were installed. In fact, more accidents were reported by the officers after the whistles were installed than before for the same period of time and stretches of highway. Tests conducted in Utah, Georgia and Wisconsin also concluded that deer whistles don't work.

The odds are you won't hit a deer. Your best protection is to drive defensively, particularly as the sun sets. This is when most vehicle/deer accidents occur. Slow down when you see one deer. More often another is right behind it.

Read more here, from the Washington State Univeristy:
http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/eb1677/eb1677.html


Some tips on avoiding accidents with animals:
http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-a-Moose-or-Deer-Collision