Summer Tire Safety Tips
Summer often means hitting the road and seeing some of the beautiful countryside across our great nation. Last year, we were able to visit all 10 west coast US States! We are planning a road trip again for this summer and I’m hoping to make it to Mt. Rushmore this year!
It’s always exciting to get on the road and off on a vacation, but before you start your travels, consider that your tires impact how well your car can stop. It is really important to be sure your tires are ready to go before your trip. Take a look at these summer tire safety tips so you will be prepared to care for your vehicle during your trip, no matter where your travels may take you.
I received a complimentary Michelin kit for this post. All opinions are my own.Â
Tire Safety Tips & FAQ’s
Your tires need maintenance more often than you might think to be sure your vehicle is operating safely. Keep in mind, you should check your tire pressure and tread depth monthly. You should also be sure to have your tires rotated every 7,000 miles or 6 months to extend their life and keep the tread and wear balanced. Below will answer some of the most frequently asked questions about caring for our tires.
These Tire Safety Tips below are from Michelin and National Tire Safety Week to keep you safe on the road this summer. They are experts in their industry, so you know you can rely on the answers to these important questions below.
Can I rely on my car’s tire pressure alerts?
By the time your tire looks flat or your tire pressure warning light comes on, your tire pressure is typically lower than 25% of the manufacturer’s recommended psi. Driving on underinflated tires can be dangerous, which is why it’s so important to check your tire pressure monthly.
Compare the tire’s psi with the manufacturer’s recommended psi, which can be found in your owner’s manual or on the sticker inside of your driver’s side door jam. If pressure is low, add air until it reaches the proper pressure.
How much air do your tires need?
Compare the measured psi to the psi found on the sticker inside the driver’s door of your vehicle or in owner’s manual. DO NOT compare to the psi on your tire’s sidewall.
Remember that ambient temperature has an impact on your tire pressure, as does the sun. For every 10 degrees the thermometer goes up or down, your tires lose or gain 1 psi (pounds per square inch). Even if the temperature is consistent, tires have been known to lose up to 1 psi every month, so check all tires, including your spare, once a month (or before a long trip).
How do you check tire tread depth?
Tread depth is absolutely critical to stopping. If your tread gets below 2/32 of an inch, your car’s ability to grip the road in adverse conditions is greatly reduced. Once every month, or before you set off on longer road trips, check your tires for wear and damage problems.
One easy way to check for wear is by using the penny test. All you have to do is grab a penny and select a point on your tire where tread appears the lowest. Then place Lincoln’s head into one of the grooves. If any part of Abe Lincoln’s head is covered by the tread, you’re driving with the legal amount of tread. If not, it’s time to get new tires.
When do I need to replace my tires?
Tires don’t last forever. The two main reasons one may buy new tires are tire wear and tire damage. (For information on how to diagnose an issue with your tires, click here.) Another reason is if you choose to upsize your tires, which some drivers do for improved traction and cosmetics. Some drivers also require (or prefer) seasonal tires and need to change them to match the season.
What if I only replace two tires?
41% of female purchasers buy only two tires at a time. If you can only replace two tires, always replace the back tires first. Whether you have front-wheel, all-wheel or rear-wheel drive, the back two tires are most critical for keeping the car in control and avoiding fishtailing.
I get my tires checked at every oil change!
I only check the tires when my dashboard light comes on telling me one needs air. Thanks for posting this so i know now what else to look for.
I traveled home to Geaorgia last month but I flew.
I dont check my tires that often..now I know I should!
I am traveling to Maine this summer for a camping trip.
My husband keeps our car in tip top shape and taught me years ago the importance of checking the tires and everything else possible before taking a trip to be safe! We would go to the beach in Cape San Blas Beach, Florida!
I check them when my low pressure light comes on.
I do check our tires every month. We are planning a trip to the coast very soon.
No travel plans yet.
This week I am traveling to PA to visit my family for the 4th and in a few weeks I am going to Arkansas to visit my sister
I rely too much on the car’s computer to tell me if the pressure is low, thankfully my husband is good about checking it periodically. We have a trip back to the midwest this summer (17 hours driving each way) that I’m looking forward to…well, except for the 34+ hours we’ll be in the car!
I check them every couple of months
My husband checks the tires. We go to a lake about 45 minutes from here to hike around it and have lunch
I don’t check the tires but my husband does.
No I don’t check my tires but I should.
No, I do not check my tires regularly. We have no travel plans this summer except to move into our new house.
We are planning on taking a long road trip from MS to Maine this summer.
We watch our tires all the time. I have a car that eats the front drivers tire every 6 months, even being aligned.
I make my husband check my tires all the time.
My husband checks the tires, and we are traveling to Michigan
I was driving around with my explorer not realizing I needed tires. I learned about the coin not too long ago. I was going to get my car aligned and they told me I needed tires!!! I hadn’t even thought about them.
Thanks for the information on the air pressure. Good things to know.
My husband is good about checking my tires, but I’m not!
coriwestphal at msn dot com
I often push my luck — and count on the Auto Club!!
We always check our tire pressure, fluid levels and pack emergency supplies before starting out on a trip.
jweezie43[at]gmail[dot]com
Yes we check our tires often. We plan on taking a road trip to Cedar Point
We check the air tires weekly. We are heading to upstate NY again and then Tennessee for a much needed vacay.
we have spent a lot of time traveling back and forth to the lake this summer and I know at the end of the season I am going to need new tires for winter.
My car, luckily, has a tire pressure monitor that alerts me if the tires are low. But, I still have to check them for tread wear. I would like to have better, longer lasting tires on my car.
We do not check our tires as often as we should, but I promise you that we will start checking more often! We just got back from a trip to the mountains and are planning a trip to my parents’ house for the 4th of July.
Yes, I check my tires frequently due to the drastic change in the weather which can cause your tires to deflate.
I check them and have them checked when I rotate my tires.
I know I need to check my tires more often, but the boyfriend usually does that. And my summer travel plans usually involving hiking the Appalachian Trail…so that is by foot.
I don’t check my tires very much, but I take my car to be serviced regularly at the dealership and that is one of the things they check. This summer, we have made one trip to the beach and will be driving up to the mountains later this summer!
I don’t check my tires as often as I should. We are going to the beach at some point.
My husband checks them for me
I am extremely lucky to have a fiance who is great with cars: he does all the oil changes on the vehicles and checks the tires frequently for me. (I’m spoiled!)
We will be taking several road trips to our families summer home in Wisconsin.
I seem to have to check my tires every month, one or another needs a few pounds all the time
My husband checks my tires. We are going to Myrtle beach!
remember to take the penny back out of the tire tread
I check my tires when I fill up with gas.
put wrong answer in RC link to huggies. No interest, no babies.
Thanks for the contest.
Honestly no. This article really enlightened me to do that.
We are planning a trip to the Jersey shore and my husband is the one to do the routine maintenance on our vehicles.
I would love to take a trip to Yellowstone.We have been there three times but you never get to see it all..so beautiful!
I have the people at the garage I use check & fill the tires when I get an oil change!
Our tires are checked with every maintenance service.
I’m a bad driver, I don’t check my tires ever, my boyfriend has to check it.
Uh oh. We recently replaced just two tires!
Not nearly as often as I should. But I have started (intuitively probably!) to check them whenever I come out of the supermarket and I notice broken glass on the pavement and the sight of that always reminds me to CHECK all of the tires (and the pavement I’ll be driving over to get out of there!)
I don’t check my tires regularly because they have sensors in them and my car automatically tells me if a tire has low pressure.
I will check them more frequently after my recent blow out!
I try to check my tires regularly. Right now I could actually use some new ones.
We check our tires on big trips but not daily which would be a great idea and save me from driving on low pressure.
funny i am always the one to check the tires my husband just get in n goes till his are falling a part.
I dont often check my tires but my husband does! Thanks for the reminder and giveaway!
Do you check your tires frequently?
i have to..i need some new ones…
Whenever my husband takes our cars for an oil change they rotate our tires and let us know how they are doing on thickness and wear and tear. We are due for new tires on both of our cars soon so we are saving our pennies now for that large expense!
we check our tires about once a quarter, actually due to replace them soon. getting low.
we are headed to DC later this year.
My hubby is a mechanic so I happily leave all auto related things in his capable hands.
I do check them before and after the cold winter months. But I should probably check them more to be sure.
I never used to check them, until my son got a flat tire last year from the tread wearing thin. Now, I do check them. I didnt know the depth check for the tires! That is great to know!
i check my tire pressure once a month.
My fiancé always checks our tires. We plan to travel out of state to an amusement park with the kids.
I sometimes check my tires, and will before we head out to Kings Island sometime this summer.
My husband checks the tires and takes care of maintaining our cars. We’re taking a “staycation” in July, and will probably take a couple of daytrips around Ohio.
Husband usually checks them before road trips and when he thinks about it. I check every now and then to make sure they don’t look low.
I get my tires checked when I get my oil changed.
No we dont check them regularly – but definitely before road trips.
My plans include traveling to some state parks for yurt camping this summer. Checking tires is an important part of the planning.
My nephew checks the tires and makes sure that they are properly inflated and I always check the tire tread every Spring to make sure my tires are in good shape.I am planning a trip to Idaho, but it is only 50 miles away. Not a long drive.
We check our tires pretty frequently. If we have to go somewhere over say 50 miles they are checked for sure.
No road trips here, I have a cat rescue and no one has time to help watch them this summer so we arent going anywhere.
I don’t check my own tires regularly, I kind of leave that up to my husband or have them checked when I get my oil changed!
I do not check my tires regularly and no summer time plans as of yet. Maybe a weekend road trip.
Yes, my husband checks the tire pressure and our tires very regularly because he drives a ways back and forth to work all the time. We are planning a road trip and vacation up to Redwood National Park this year..I can’t wait!
The hubby checks the tires regularly!
Our SUV has tire sensors so they alert me when the tires are low. We do keep on eye on the tread wear though. We will be taking a road trip later this summer! 🙂
I only check my tires every oil change. I should check them more. I plan to go to colorado this summer.
I do not check our tires as much as I should. We are not going on a vacation this year. My oldest daughter starts high school this fall and decided to do an internship to get some credits. I will be driving her back and forth to this all summer. Thank you!
I don’t check my tires as frequently as I should. I am planning several camping trips this summer/fall.
We do check our tires regularly and recently had to buy two new tires. We will be visiting Maryland and North Carolina this year.
I check the tires pretty frequently for winter time driving. There’s a lot of snow here and you don’t want to get in an accident due to bad tires.
I have a great mechanic who checks them for me because I commute a long drive and always want them to be okay. Hoping to get to Maine a few times this summer!
Sounds like a very useful gift.
Planning to travel to the outerbanks NC.
I will admit I am not very good at checking my tire pressure, but this post reminds me of the importance of doing this on a regular basis.
I need to be better about checking my tire pressure
We get our oil change and have our tires check at that time.
We will go the lakes this summer
I check my tires every couple of months b/c I don’t drive much like I used to.I got 4 new tires a couple of yrs ago and they’re still as good as new.No summer vacations for me.Thank you for the awesome giveaway 🙂
I’m planning on going to Universal Orlando over the summer. I want to check out the Simpsons and the new Harry Potter area.
No, my bad, I don’t check my tires at all. My son will tell me when I need to do anything with them
i dont have a car
yes we check the tires often,and I just completed a trip from VT to TN and back,,over 2400 miles round trip
Always checking the tires. And lotsa travelling this summer so that tire gauge will come in handy. And you know, if the tires go kaput, hubby can always push the car.
We just got a new (used) car that had brand new tires put on! It’s so nice to have new tires that we are very vigilant about keeping up with them.
Planning to travel to the shore this year and the tires will definitely be checked.
Thanks for the reminder and details, I need to check my tread depth… may be time for new tires.
I do not check my tires like I should
My Hubz keeps up the the car maintenance, including the tire checking. We will be doing some long-weekend traveling this summer to visit family, but nothing as big as a vacation this year.
Yes we do because my fiance’ has to drive all ove the state for work.We are planning on going to Myrtle Beach!
Yes I always check my tires and we plan to take little mini trips around our state!
I need to check my tires more frequently.
I do not check them nearly as often as I should. I need to make a habit out of it.
im planing on a trip to las vegas and san diego zoo
My husband checks my tires frequently for me. We will be traveling to PA to visit relatives
I don’t check my tire pressure as often as I should. I usually just have a mechanic do it when I take my car in for service. Thanks for the giveaway!
We are planning on traveling the route 66 route to california and back.
Tire safety is so important! I’m so glad you are posting about this…with a fun incentive too!
If it were my truck, I would check the tires. Yes, we will travel though we know not where (yet.)
My husband takes care of looking, etc at our tires. We road trip from Texas to Louisiana several times a summer.
My husband has both winter and summer tires put on my car depending on the season and he checks the for me.
I check my tires frequently.
We’re bad at checking tires, we only check when they seem to be low on air. We’d like to go to South Dakota this summer.
I am planning a trip to Atlantic City this summer.
I wanted to just drive to my sister’s in another state, but turns out my car is doing something funky. The first shop I took it to did NOT figure it out.. *sigh* I saw SUPER sales to fly, I just might give up on driving there. LOL that’s life I guess.
My husband checks the tires regularly. We plan a beach trip with the kids.
I do check my tires and am planning a road trip to the beach.
I do not check my tires and we have no special summer plans
I always check the tires before going on trips. We are just staying home this summer.
This summer I plan on taking a road trip to Colorado. I do not check my tire pressure often enough.
We do check our tires frequently and we are traveling to San Marcos Texas for a conference in July!
I know I should check the tire pressure more often, but I do not do it.
I don’t check my tire pressure as often as I probably should. I need to do so before we take our annual trip to the beach.
I always check my tire pressure a lot. And we are planning on going to fort worth texas this summer to visit family.
I check them regularly, but money is always tight!!
Ye whenever we take the care in for regular oil changes we check the tires
My husband always checks the tires.
I check my tires about once a month. 🙂 Thank you.
Usually when we plan on a long ride, we’ll have the tires checked.
I tend to forget tire checking unless hubby reminds me or does the job.
My husband keeps track of my tires
We are planning to go to Seattle. I’ve always wanted to go there and see places like the Space Needle.
I grew up in Seattle, you’ll love how green it is! Definitely check out Pike Place Market (fish market) it’s really cool even if you don’t shop for any fish.
Thank you for providing the tip with the penny. I think my tires need replaced but have been busy and not had a chance to stop in the tire shop. Also I sometimes wonder if they will just tell you to replace tires since they are in the business of selling them! It’s great to know I have an easy way to check myself.
I dont check my tires – well ever! But I assume my husband does?!
We will go on some trips to the beach this summer!
I’m not planning on driving too far from home this summer
Yes I check my tires regularly. I don’t have any plans to travel this summer. I am staying home!
I get my tires checked when I get my oil changed.
yes, we check our tires regularly.
i don’t check my tires that often, but i always check them before winter sets in and when i think of it i try to glance at them to see if they’re low when i get gas.
I do check my tires frequently, but I won’t be travelling this summer because I have to make some home repairs. I’m hoping to take a trip in the fall.
We do try to check our tire pressure, especially with our 10 yr old van. We will just be going to see relatives in FL this summer.
This summer we are planning a camping trip in Colorado with family and friends. I’m so excited for this road trip and the ready to see family and friends.
I DO check my tires a lot! I’m always worried that I will get a flat if I don’t keep on top of them!
We do not check as much as we should, we actually just had to replace them. We are planning a summer trip to Boston.
I’m planning on driving to the beach in FL next month. I’ll have to check my tires before I go!
Hubby checks the tires on our vehicles frequently. We are doing a little travel this summer, but just within our state. We’ll take a few day trips and for the 2 oldest birthdays in July we are going to Orlando and Daytona.