Tires can affect your car’s safety, performance, and fuel efficiency, making them one of the most important parts of your car. For new drivers, learning proper tire safety and maintenance is essential to being prepared for any scenario, whether it’s learning how to check tire pressure or changing a flat tire.
If you’re a student learning to drive for the first time, your instructor can guide you through the basics of tire maintenance so you feel more confident on the road. Before you jump straight into changing a tire on your own, it’s a good idea to learn about proper tire maintenance both from guided driving lessons and by seeking out reliable information on the most important skills you should know.
What Will You Learn?
You’ll learn tire safety tips every driver should know before hitting the road, such as:
- Checking tire pressure
- Tire inflation
- How to check tire tread
- Inspecting rims
- Changing a tire
The Importance of Checking Tire Pressure
Checking your car’s tire pressure should be a regular part of your car maintenance habits. Not only does it help you reduce tire wear and tear, but it’s critical for safety on the road. A lot of factors can influence the wear and tear of your tires, such as braking, acceleration, the quality of the road, how long you’ve used the tires, rim conditions, and more.
Well-maintained tires can improve vehicle performance and fuel efficiency. For both new and seasoned drivers, it’s critical to understand tire care to keep your vehicle safe and prevent accidents and expensive repairs. Below, we’ll look at a few key aspects of tire maintenance:
How to Check Tire Pressure
Using a tire pressure gauge, you can easily measure a tire’s air pressure. Insert the gauge nozzle onto the valve and note the reading. Then, compare the reading to the recommended pressure in your vehicle’s manual or on the label on the inside of the driver-side door.
How to Read the Tire Gauge
The reading is displayed in PSI for digital gauges. On analog gauges, note where the marker stops. Carefully follow the gauge so that you don’t under or overinflate your tires.
How Often to Check
You should check tire pressure at least once a month and before long car trips. If you drive very frequently, consider checking every couple of weeks. Checking regularly will help you reduce wear and guarantee that your tire pressure is at optimal levels.
Pro tip: To get an accurate reading, always check tire pressure when the tire is cooled down, so avoid checking tire pressure immediately after driving.
Proper Tire Inflation
A major part of tire safety is maintaining the correct tire inflation levels. During your driving lessons, your instructor can show you the difference between a tire that’s correctly inflated and under or overinflated so you can understand what to look out for.
How to Properly Inflate Your Tire
It’s easy to inflate tires on your own using an air compressor or by visiting a gas station. First, remove the valve cap and attach the air hose. Then, inflate the tire to the recommended pressure. Monitor the pressure using a gauge as described earlier to avoid overinflation.
Why Proper Tire Inflation is Important
Properly inflated tires give you better traction on the road and lead to less wear and better efficiency. When tires are over or underinflated, they can get blown out, wear quicker, or even lead to poor braking, creating unnecessary safety hazards.
Checking Tread Depth
Treads, the lines on your tires, are how your car maintains grip on the road. Not every tire has the same tread, so it’s important to understand your car’s specific tires so you know what to look for. For example, sportier cars often have low-profile tires, which have less tread in order to maximize speed. Season-specific tires, like summer tires, also have less tread than winter tires as they don’t need to grip snow and ice.
For new drivers, it’s important to learn how to assess tread wear and regularly check depth. This can help prevent accidents caused by not having enough grip in wet or slippery winter driving conditions.
The Penny Test for Tire Tread
An easy way to check tread depth is with a penny. Insert a penny into the tire grooves with Lincoln’s head facing down. If you can see the top of his head, the tire needs to be replaced. Tire tread is measured in 32nd of an inch, and the depth should never be less than 2/32”.
Why Do You Need to Check Tire Tread?
The treads on your tires give you proper traction, which leads to shorter braking distances and less of a risk of hydroplaning. When your tread is worn down, your car will react slower and less safely in poor weather conditions.
Tire Rim Maintenance
Rims are important for supporting your tries so that they perform well. When rims are new, they don’t have any dents, cracks, or abrasions, so they have a perfectly balanced spin and allow weight to be evenly distributed along the tire.
It’s a good idea to understand what to look out for to best maintain your rims. During a driving lesson, your driving instructor can show you what type of damage to look for and how to maintain your rims to avoid costly repairs. Generally, when you go to a mechanic to switch your tires, they can set the rim with the new tires to rebalance them and ensure they’re intact and safe to drive with.
What Causes Rim Damage?
Rim damage can come from different things, such as:
- Hitting potholes or curbs
- Driving with underinflated tires
- Road salt
- Improper cleaning
To avoid damage, make sure you drive cautiously when roads are uneven, check tire pressure regularly, and clean your rims often.
Why Is It Important to Check for Different Types of Rim Damage?
Bent, cracked, or corroded rims can make your tires leak and wear down, or even vibrate while driving. Regularly inspecting your tires, including the rims, can help you detect these issues early on so that you can continue driving safely.
Replacing Tires: How It’s Done
In an emergency, you can’t always get to a garage to change tires, so knowing how to swap one out is an essential skill every driver should know. Here’s a brief overview of how to replace a flat or damaged tire:
- Park securely: Move to a safe location, turn on your hazard lights, and apply the parking brake
- Loosen the lug nuts: Use a wrench to slightly loosen the lug nuts before lifting the vehicle
- Raise the vehicle: Position the jack under the car’s designated jacking point and lift the vehicle until the flat tire is off the ground
- Replace the tire: Remove the lug nuts, take off the flat tire, and mount the spare then secure the lug nuts
- Lower and tighten: Tighten the lug nuts and lower the vehicle back down using the jack
Pro tip: After replacing your tire, check the spare’s pressure to make sure it’s properly inflated before driving.
Driven2Drive Tire Safety Tips
At Driven2Drive, we understand that it can be nerve-wracking to handle tire health as a new driver. As you get more comfortable on the road, your tire safety skills and understanding will grow, too. Still, it’s a good idea to keep these safety tips in mind for optimal tire health, especially if you’re a new driver.
- Know what to do when you get a flat: Pull over to a safe location as soon as you can and avoid driving on a flat tire to cause further damage
- Inspect tires for visible damage: Look for cuts, bulges, or objects that got stuck in your tires while driving and, if possible, address the issues immediately
- Regularly rotate tires: Rotate your tires every 5,000 to 7,000 miles to guarantee even wear and extend tire life
- Don’t overload your vehicle: Exceeding the load capacity of your car can put unnecessary strain on your tires, so be sure to always check your car’s load limit
- Understand run-flat tires: If your car is equipped with run-flat tires, you can drive for a short distance (typically up to 50 miles) at a reduced speed after a puncture
- Learn how to spot tire dry-rot: If you haven’t driven your car in a while, even if it’s parked in a garage, tires can develop dry-rot that can affect tread, so look for cracks in the rubber to avoid grip issues when driving
Key Takeaways
- Check tire pressure every month and top up with air as necessary
- Regularly inspect tread depth to maintain proper traction
- Keep an eye out for rim damage and promptly address issues
- Learn to change a tire and check that your car is equipped with essentials like a spare, jack, and wrench
- Always prioritize tire care to avoid accidents and expensive repairs
Learn Tire Safety From Professionals at Driven2Drive Driving School
One of the best ways to get more comfortable with all aspects of tire safety is to practice. For new drivers, getting guidance from a professional driving instructor can help you feel more confident in inspecting your tires. At Driven2Drive, our driving instructors aren’t only there to help you pass your driving test, but they want you to feel prepared for any situation, including inspecting and changing tires.
During your driving lesson, you can go over tire safety tips and best practices with your instructor. They can show you how to properly check tire pressure and inflate your tire, how to check tread wear, inspect your rims, and much more. Equipped with this knowledge, new drivers can feel a lot safer knowing that they’re prepared for any situation with their tires.
Driven2Drive is a premier driving school and the leader in Driver’s Education. From our dedicated team of instructors to our innovative state-of-the-art Driving & License Testing Centers, we are committed to instilling safe driving habits for life in a fun and interactive atmosphere.
