Why tyre care is the utmost importance for driving – Mummascribbles

This is a paid advertorial for Ossett Tyre House

I don’t know about you but I am not the best when it comes to cars. Yes I can drive well, and I am pretty epic when it comes to parking (you have to be on our very narrow road),  but when it comes to maintenance and knowing about the ins and outs of cars – well that’s where I hit my downfall.

Back when my Dad was still around, he was my go to for all things car trouble. Air needed in tyres? Give Dad a call. Broken down? Give Dad a call. Exhaust fallen off at a mini roundabout? (Yes that really did happen!) – give Dad a call. He was always there when I needed car help, and when he died, it took me a while to not automatically want to pick up the phone any time I had a car related question.

It’s been almost seven years since I’ve had that person there to help me, and whilst the other half does try and assist – he doesn’t drive himself and so he isn’t exactly used to having to look after a car. I am definitely the one who keeps it all in order and running smoothly. And of course, one of those things is to make sure that they tyres are in full working health. Because driving with two children in the car means I don’t want anything to happen to those tyres while they are being used.

In just a few weeks, we will be packing up the car and going on holiday, and so I need to make sure that the car is fully up to scratch and ready for a long journey as we are driving from Hertfordshire to Herefordshire (so around 3-4 hours). I’m already dreading it because Oscar has never been the best at travelling, and he keeps moaning at the moment when he is in his car seat, so I don’t need any problems going wrong with the car when I’m already going to be feeling anxious. Back when Zach was little, we drove all the way up to Yorkshire without a peep from him. You can easily get your tyres booked within West Yorkshire – get them from Ossett Tyre House. They make sure your tyres are safe enough for driving.

Here are the three things that I’ll be doing to make sure my tyres are ready for driving the distance.

Checking the treads

Now I do know that my tyres are pretty OK because the car hasn’t long been serviced (something I make sure I do every year), but we have been out and about in the car a bit more recently, and so I need to make sure that the treads are still OK. I don’t have any fancy equipment like a tread depth gauge, so I will be using the 20p test. You grab a 20p, place it into the main tread grooves of your tyre, and if the outer band of the coin is obscured when it is inserted then your tread is above the legal limit. If it’s not – well you really should be looking at getting new ones!

Checking for foreign bodies

I have been caught out so many times by a sharp object causing a slow puncture in my tyres. I once got in the car with Zach to go and meet a friend and her daughter at soft play, and as I started driving down the road, I heard that familiar sound of a flat tyre, so I had to drive back round the corner and leave it at the garage at the end of our road for repair. It ruined our day and was unfixable so needed a new tyre! Before we go away, I will be making sure that I have a look over the tyres to make sure there are no sharp stones or nails in them that may cause issues with the drive!

Checking the air pressure

I am pretty sure that my car tells me when my tyres need air in them, but I still like to make sure they are at the right levels before setting off on a long journey, especially because the car is always full to the brim so a lot heavier, and there are usually many motorways involved. Making sure the tyre pressure is correct is really important.

Short journeys matter too

It of course isn’t just on long journeys that we need to make sure our tyres are safe for driving – it is important to make sure that our tyres are fit for the road on short local journeys too. Especially if the roads are like the windy, narrow and hilly country roads of West Yorkshire! Or indeed, the extremely hilly St Ives which I found myself driving through a few years back. It is one of the steepest hills I have ever had the pleasure of driving through and my heart was in my mouth the whole time. Luckily my tyres proved good and got me up it!

Disclosure

This post is a paid advertorial in collaboration with Ossett Tyre House. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.