Tire Safety for Highway Driving

Long road trips can take anywhere from weeks to months of planning. Work must be taken off, school schedules must be rearranged, and most importantly, your vehicle of choice must be prepared to undertake the journey ahead. While there are a number of maintenance checks that should be made to your vehicle before a long drive, you should never gloss over the condition of your tires. Here at Fisher Honda in Boulder we want to do everything we can to keep our customers safe on the road, so please follow these tire safety tips before your next trip!

How to Check Your Tire Pressure

A car with the right amount of pressure in each tire makes for better handling, better fuel economy, and longer tire life! If you’re not sure how much psi your tires should have, check the door of your vehicle. Once you have located that number or if you can’t find it on your car’s door, check your owner’s manual just to be sure you are filling your tires up to the proper psi. Due to heat caused by friction during driving, tire pressure will always be higher just after a trip. It is recommended that you correct the air pressure in your tires when they are cold for the most consistent psi reading.

What to do in the Event of a Tire Leak or Blowout While Driving

Even with the perfect number of psi in each tire, sometimes the road will still find a way to do some damage. If one or more of your tires happens to spring a leak or blowout altogether, the first thing to do is maintain control of the vehicle and not to panic. The following instructions should keep you, your passengers, and your car safe:

• Do NOT step on the brakes or remove your foot from the accelerator. Doing either of these things can cause severe vehicle imbalance and a loss of control.
• Instead, slowly release the accelerator so that stability is maintained through momentum.
• For continued stability, correct your steering as necessary while simultaneously assessing a safe route to follow for an emergency stop.
• Once you have confirmed the most control and stability of your vehicle, judge where and when to pull off the road.

Now that you are off the road, set up a safe perimeter around your car to change the tire yourself, or call roadside assistance.

Our Fisher Honda Service Department takes safety very seriously. We pride ourselves on getting you back on the road with peace of mind and a safe, expertly repaired vehicle. Stop by our dealership at 6025 Arapahoe Road for an inspection to make sure your vehicle is trip-ready!