Beech Tree News Network

Have you ever had your day start wrong? Last Thursday, I had most of my day scheduled and planned to leave a little early, ensuring I would not be late for my first appointment. When I backed my vehicle out of the garage, I recognized that something wasn’t right. I stopped, got out of the car and circled it, checking the tires. The front passenger tire was totally flat. Since I’m not handy with changing tires, I began calling to reschedule my appointments. Then, I called my son-in-law for his help.
    As I went about my rescheduled day, I thought a lot about tires. Some of those thoughts were: Can the tire be repaired? Do I need new tires? Have tires significantly increased in price since I bought the last set? I’m sure you know how we wonder about the details before we have a solution to our problem.
    I also thought about the production of tires, their safety, as well as their disposal and recycling. I decided to do a little research. I learned that the annual sales of car tires is about $32.1 billion and of light truck tires is about $4.3 billion (http://statisticbrain.com/car-tire-industry-statistics/). These figures don’t include other types of vehicle tires.
    Below are some things I learned on the Internet (http://www.ehow.com/facts_4740979_facts-car-tires.html; http://www.ehow.com/facts_5938415_auto-tire-age-safety.html; http://www.makethelist.net/7-facts-about-your-tires/#_/exjun_):
•    The tire’s manufacture date is included in the serial number (the DOT code): “The last two digits represent the year and the prior two digits represent the week of the year….If the DOT code ends in three numbers instead of four, the last digit represents the year and the prior two represent the week.”
•    About one half of a barrel of crude oil is used to make one tire.
•    Tire rotation on a regular basis reduces wear (I did know this, but don’t practice it with regularity.).
•    The main cause of tire failure is an overloaded vehicle and an under-inflated tire.
•    As tires age, they dry out which may cause them to blow out, regardless of mileage. After five years, tires should be checked for cracks.
•    Tires will age faster in warmer temperatures due to the extra sunlight.
•    Rarely used tires will age quicker than tires used on a regular basis.
•    Many tires end up in landfills, but the majority of tires are recycled – more than 75%. Tires are capable of being recycled again and again. (We should make sure our tires don’t become part of the 25% in a landfill.)
By the end of Thursday, my son-in-law had checked the tire and added air, and I had gotten the tire repaired. Thankfully, I don’t need a new tire, and I’ve rescheduled all the activities that I missed. Although I didn’t follow my Dad’s wise advice (“Patty, be sure to check your tires….”) until it was a little late, Thursday was still a good day.