JAA encourages tyre checks
Published:Sunday | January 15, 2012 | 12:00 AM
As 2012 continues to unfold, the Jamaica Automobile Association (JAA) is urging motorists to adapt safer driving practices to prevent accidents. This includes ensuring that the tyres on their vehicles are properly maintained and worthy for road use.
The Road Safety Unit at the Ministry of Transport and Works has reported that more than 300 persons were killed on the roads in 2011, after a national campaign to keep the deaths under that figure. However, there was a decrease in fatal crashes when compared with 2010.
Duane Ellis, general manager of the JAA, while welcoming the news of a decrease in the number of crashes, said that “Each motorist has a responsibility to exercise caution when driving on the roads”. He noted that while many crashes are caused by unsafe driving practices, such as speeding, this is further exacerbated by faulty equipment such as faulty brakes and worn tyres.
“Drivers need to ensure that their vehicles are in peak condition so as not to pose a risk to themselves and other road users,” he noted. He noted that this was one of the “secure trying techniques that was addressed in the Auto Club’s quarterly Auto Clinic for its members”.
The JAA head’s statement is supported by Nicholas McKoy, general manager of Chad AD Distributors Limited. “The state of a vehicle’s tyres has a major impact on its overall performance,” he said. “Tyres are the only part on the vehicle that makes contact with the road.”
He encourages motorists to carry out basic care of their tyres, which includes maintaining the correct air pressure to help prolong their durability and safety.
One obvious effect of normal wear on tyres is “balding,” which occurs over a period of time with all tyres. McKoy pointed out that every tyre has a ‘wear bar’ between its tread blocks to indicate when they should be changed before balding reaches a critical state. “It is recommended that tyres be replaced when the tread is worn down to a minimum of 1.6mm. A tyre tread depth gauge can be used to get an exact measurement of this to indicate the best time to change the tyre,” the auto specialist said.
Tyre makers also recommend that drivers should not use a tyre more than six years beyond the date of manufacture, which is listed on the side of the tyre. “Physically inspect the tyre that you buy and make sure that it is not beyond its expiry date,” McKoy suggested. He also urged motorists to keep within the load range and tyre size recommended by the manufacturer.