Checking tires helps increase fuel efficiency and safety
- Published: June 3, 2009
1) Do you check your tire pressure at least once a month?2) Do you know where the tire placard is on your vehicle?
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When it comes to properly checking tire pressure many fleet drivers look at the pressure listed on the sidewall of the tire. This is the maximum tire pressure - or the tire pressure that is required to carry the maximum load of the tire.
It is not the manufacturer's recommended tire pressure, which is a common misperception. Reading the owners manual or the vehicle information placard is the key to knowing the correct tire pressure.
Locating the placard
Through the years, AMA instructors have found that, when teaching Professional Driver Improvement courses and the time comes to finding the vehicle information placard, many company drivers are not able to locate the placard, or even know about it. For the majority of vehicles, the owner's manual will direct you to the vehicle information placard's location. A very common place to find the vehicle information placard is on the driver side front door or the driver side "B" pillar (post closest to door hinge). Other common places include the fuel filler door, the trunk/hatch area, the glove box, the centre console or the sun visor.
Checking tire pressure
The tires on your vehicle are engineered to perform safely, however to do their job properly, vehicle tires need regular maintenance. Tire pressure is affected by temperature and natural permeation, so measure the air pressure of each tire at least once per month…this also includes checking the spare tire. Always measure your tire pressure when the tires are cold. "Cold" means that a vehicle has been stationary for at least three hours or has not been driven more than 2 km.
The most common vehicle defect AMA instructors find when inspecting company vehicles is improperly inflated tires. A fleet driver not checking the tires with a tire gauge on a regular basis risks improper inflation. Under or over-inflated tires will cause handling problems. Simply put, your vehicle may not accelerate, brake or steer properly. Other safety devices such as Antilock Braking Systems (ABS) and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) systems may not function correctly with tires that are not properly inflated.
Staying in tuned
Remember to always check your tires visually every time you walk up to the vehicle and with a gauge at least once a month or prior to a long road trip. Checking tires will benefit fleet drivers by improving handling and braking performance. Other benefits to proper inflation include increased driver safety, longer tire service life, better fuel economy and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
