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It’s Highway Suicide Today
When it comes to your car and road safety it is a well-documented fact that disabled vehicles pulled over and parked on the side of the road experience extraordinarily high rates of collisions with passing traffic. Which means that changing a tire on a roadway is dangerous, and even deadly at times
And it’s not just about the concern of other vehicles driving into you from behind, but those that go past you at high rates of speed throwing road debris at you and/or falling off a large truck.
The Current Highway Safety Recommendation
While much has been said about how that kids today do not have enough basic automotive skills or knowledge to know how to properly change or fix a flat tire while stranded on the road, one cogent argument against making it something all parents should teach their kids this skill is that current highway safety recommendations are going beyond being tire-wise to now recognizing the need to recommend against attempting to change a flat tire while on the road.
Today, motorists of all ages are told that changing a tire on any street can be hazardous, but it’s practically suicide on the highway where there is often little space for much more than a single vehicle to be pulled over…let alone a safe distance from all traffic.
The safer alternative is to never attempt to change a flat tire while traveling and call for assistance instead from either a roadside service like AAA or requesting a law enforcement officer to block your vehicle with his while the flat tire is being changed. Hey, it’s your tax dollars at work for you for a change…right?!
In any case, the recommendation is to turn on your hazard lights, remain in your vehicle, call for help, and wait. And when possible, to leave your vehicle and go onto the other side of the roadway ditch or behind a barrier such as a guardrail while waiting.
Here’s a tragic news story from last December highlighting the problem as pointed out by law enforcement and a good example of why parents should teach their children not to change a flat tire while on the road:
When Help is Not Available What to Do
Unfortunately, timely help is not always available while on the road. And time is your enemy when stranded and it becomes a matter of not IF…but WHEN…a parked vehicle is stuck by another. In other words, the best defense can be removing yourself and your vehicle as quickly as possible to a safer location where the chances of being stuck by traffic are significantly lessened.
And to do that means that you need the right road safety tools. For example, a roadside tire inflator that will temporarily inflate a tire in seconds rather than minutes to provide enough air to get your car moved somewhere safe.
Tire Inflator Tool Testing
One example of the right tool for the job was recently reviewed on the Project Farm YouTube channel where the host pitted several brands of tire inflators against each other that not only determined which ones really work, but those that work the fastest.
For example, to raise the typical tire pressure from 30 to 36 psi took a $50 Harbor Freight Bauer brand tire inflator 2 minutes and 31 seconds compared to a $139 Milwaukee brand that took only 18 seconds to do the same job.
To inflate a fully flat tire, the difference between an inexpensive brand with a moderately higher priced brand is significant as well. Especially if your vehicle uses high pressure tires such as those on larger and/or off-road vehicles and even some EVs.
The point is this: No more racetrack crew fantasies of how fast you can change a flat tire. Get out, get inflated, get back in, get gone, get safe. It’s as simple as that.
Tire Inflator Review Video
That said, here is the video review that supports the view why spending more on a portable roadside tire inflator is a no-brainer when it comes to automotive safety and which brands are the best to choose.
Related article: Consumer Reports Treadwear Testing Reveals How Long Some Tire Types Really Do Last
Timothy Boyer is a Torque News automotive reporter based in Cincinnati. Experienced with early car restorations, he regularly restores older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites for daily news and topics related to new and used cars and trucks.
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