Oct 6

Tire Safety: How Old Is Too Old?
When thinking about tire safety, it is important to consider two things: age and use. Vehicles driven daily are typically driven 15,000 miles a year. But there are situations where cars put on even fewer miles. This includes: being driven only on the weekends, never driving in the rain, show cars, and cars that are stored for extended periods of time. So, some tires on these types of cars put on less than 100,000. But it doesn t mean that they are safe tires. Tires deteriorate over time and can age out wear out before they wear out. In a statement from the British Rubber Manufacturers Association (BRMA) issued on June 5, 2001 regarding the age of tires they state, “BRMA members strongly recommend that unused tires should not be put into service if they are over 6 years old and that all tires should be replaced 10 years from the date of their manufacture.” Tire age can be accelerated by a variety of environmental factors, such as sunlight exposure and coastal climates. Poor storage and infrequent use of your vehicle are other things that can accelerate tire age. If you keep your tires in ideal conditions, the tire age can go as high as 10 years from its manufacture date. But ideal conditions are the exception rather than the rule. And the worst part is that you cannot tell the safety of an old tire just by looking at it since there are no conclusive tests for the safety of tires without destroying the tire itself! Due to this, some European car manufacturers of high performance sports cars, coupes and sedans have hedged their bets, stating in their owners manuals that the tire age should reach no higher than 6 years. How Better Rubber Makes Tires That Are Safe There have been a lot of changes in rubber compounds since Charles Goodyear discovered how to cure rubber when he baked a combination of natural rubber and sulfur on his family s kitchen stove. Thus, he would convert an unappreciated raw material into many useful products. Goodyear cross-linked sulfur with polymers that, when exposed to heat, would help make rubber durable and at the same time maintain its elasticity. The main focus of new research has been finding tire age inhibitors. Sulfur molecules are one such tire age inhibitor that is reactivated every time they are exposed to heat, making the rubber harder. Nowadays, rubber in tires has oil in it that tends to migrate into the tires under tread/casing and evaporate into the air. In the process of this, the tire compound releases oil and gets harder. If you can t quite visualize this, go into any tire store and take a big whiff. You ll smell the oil there. Before curing, most tires are coated with a mold release agent that is makes it easier to remove from their mold after curing. If it s a little hard to visualize, think about spraying Pam on a fry pan before pouring on the batter for pancakes. This increases the safety of tires because some of the mold release agent gets cooked onto the surface of the cured tire, which prevents all the oil from evaporating. What Is The Right Tire Age? In most cases, most street tires are good for 6-8 years if maintained properly. Don t forget though that this includes the time the tires spent from the manufacturer s plant to the dealer to you. So, keep this in mind when you are determining tire age. Most tires get to you anywhere between 3-6 months. Some stay longer with the tire manufacturer, but generally all tires that go on your car are less than a year old. So, you should not get an old tire from any tire manufacturer. Which Tires Last Longest? If you want to buy a tire based on how long it will last, you have to consider thread compound. The more aggressive its compound the shorter tire life. Below is a list of tires from longest-lasting to shortest-lasting: Max Performance Ultra High Performance tires DOT-legal competition tires Bottom line: if you want to avoid safe tire issues go with tires that last long and properly maintain them.Bob Martin says Don t buy any new tires until you take a serious look at this today http://www.discount-tires-online.com/TireRatings/tire-rating-guide.htm This article is a copyrighted work and does not come with reprint or resale rights and may not be altered or changed in any way including the resource box. The site owner acknowledges that by using this article they accept this condition. The only exception being to bold the appropriate copy i.e. headlines and subhead text.
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Are Radar Detectors Legal in the US and in which States are they Prohibited?
A good number of the people with cars in the United States have their own radar detectors. Their reason is that they feel that the speed limit at present is very low. Most of the American people are not satisfied with moderate speed while driving. They want to be the fastest driver on the road as well as get to the places they re going in record time; they want to be always in the race. The radar detector serves as their alarm whenever there are police near them. Once the radar detector alarm sounds, they can ease on the gas and slow down their speed. Because of the radar detectors being known to every motorist, cops are hiding, in alleyways or behind bridges in order to avoid being detected by the radar detectors. Motorists on the other hand are being clever themselves, they are aware of these techniques from the police, so more enhanced, top-dollar detectors have entered the market. Though the policemen are always improving their chances of catching the radar detector users, they are unable to make the streets of the United States radar detector-free. Radar detectors are legal in many cities and states in the United States. But this does not mean that radar detector units are legal in all of the states in the US. Here are some of the states that deem radar detectors illegal: 1. The usage of radar detectors are prohibited in the Commonwealth of Virginia. They have laws banning the use of radar detectors. Not only are radar detectors illegal to use in Virginia, they are also illegal to have in the vehicle. 2. Radar detectors and radar jammers are illegal in the District of Columbia. The passing of their laws to ban the use of radar detectors was set in 1995. 3. In Illinois, radar detectors are only regulated in commercial vehicles of over 26,001 pounds. 4. On US military bases, they are legal to have but illegal to use. 5. Radar jammers are illegal in the states of Utah, California, Oklahoma, Colorado and Nebraska. 6. Radar detectors are not specifically regulated, but things hanging from windshields are not permitted in the state of Minnesota. 7. For motor vehicles over 18,000 pounds and any other commercial motor vehicles over 10,000 pounds in New York, radar detectors are illegal. And other states that prohibit the use of radar detectors are the following: Alabama Arizona Arkansas Colorado Delaware Florida Georgia Idaho Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Mississippi Missouri Montana Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey Mew Mexico North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Vermont Washington Wisconsin Wyoming The state of Connecticut on the contrary has cancelled its anti-radar detector law in 1998 which make this radar detector now legal in this state.Nicola Kennedy publishes articles and reports and provides news, views and information about <a href="http://www.radar-detecting.info">radar detectors</a> at Radar Detecting Information. This article may be reprinted in full so long as the resource box and the live links are included intact. All rights reserved. Copyright Radar-Detecting.info
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Learning To Back Up A Vehicle Safely For The Beginner And Inexperienced Driver
Backing up your vehicle can be quite simple, once you get the technique down pat, like anything else. It should be a lot easier than going forward. There is a huge difference in speed, than maneuvering the vehicle forward. Keep in mind. The faster your speed is, the faster you have to process information. That said. Driving backwards should be a lot easier than going forward, because you should be going a lot slower. Now if you?re speeding going backwards, the opposite is true. Right? When backing up a vehicle, always look in the direction that you are backing. When your maneuvering the vehicle to the left, look left. When you?re maneuvering the vehicle to the right, look right. When you?re driving straight back always look over you?re right shoulder. Always glance over the opposite shoulder first, before you proceed to back up. So if you?re backing and looking right, you should be glancing left first, before you start to roll backwards. Backing to the left, glance over right shoulder first. Always recheck you?re blind spot again, if you take more time, before you roll back. There are a few things that you have to do first, depending on the size of the vehicle. You may have to honk your horn to worn pedestrians and other vehicles. One important thing you must do is looking around before you back up. The other important thing you must do is look where your backing at all times. The only reason to glance forward is to make sure your front end clears the vehicle, hazard, or pedestrian beside your car if you intend on turning the vehicle. Did you notice I used the word glance? It?s pretty easy. Driving forward, you look forward, driving backwards; you look backwards until your vehicle comes to a complete stop. Everything else is just a glance. When you must back up, only go back far enough necessary to drive forward, especially if you?re view is limited. Putting it in simpler terms. If you?re vehicle has enough clearance to move forward. Stop and proceed forward. Do not guess. Move back more if your not sure. When you?re not sure which way your vehicle wheels are turned. With your foot on the brake pedal and the gearshift in drive or reverse, depending on direction, release up on the brake pedal slowly and look and see which direction your vehicle is heading, and correct accordingly. Let?s take a quick lesson on backing up. May I suggest you find a vacant parking lot like a mall or a school when it is closed? Make sure you get out of the car and look around for kids playing first. (Do not attempt this maneuver without an experienced driver sitting next to you or kids playing in the area.) With your foot covering the brake, slowly release the brake until the vehicle starts rolling. Keep your foot above the brake only to move it to the accelerator to get the vehicle in motion moving your foot back over the brake to keep the car from getting out of control. It?s called covering the brake. Looking in the direction you want to go, place your hand at the twelve o?clock position, practice turning the vehicle from side to side bringing it back to straight position and holding it straight for awhile. Stop after approximately the length of a football field and do the same thing going forward. The reason I would like you to do the same exercise going forward is that soon you will realize turning the wheel going forward is the same as turning the wheel going backwards. Once you turn the wheel right or left. Bringing the vehicle back to straight position will require you to straighten the wheel once the vehicle is straight again. Repeat the maneuver going backwards until you arrive at the approximate point that you started. Also practice turning the vehicle on a bigger degree of a turn when you get a little more confident. Be certain that you are covering the brake pedal at all times. Slowly backing up to your ability only. Also practice backing up between the lines of parking stalls. Do this a few times or a couple of times a week and you will master the art of backing up safely. Your knowledge on backing up is equally as important as driving forward. Just remember that doing it safely is the most important part of backing up. In other words, looking around before rolling back and looking where you?re backing. Do not roll back looking forward. Do you look back when you are driving forward? . Lets talk about the blind spot. Position your hands at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel and look straight ahead. You should be able to see out your back window and your side mirrors. Those mirrors are good for viewing traffic coming up behind you. Your blind spot is situated over your shoulders on the backside of your passengers back windows. By glancing in that direction, you will be able to see a vehicle coming along side of you, that you cannot see with your mirrors. Including traffic or pedestrians approaching from the opposite side of the roadway, or parking lots and intersections. When you want a better understanding of the blind spot. Have a friend or family member stand directly along side the back corner of you?re vehicle, and have them side-step away from your vehicle, and looking in you?re side and rear view mirror until they are not visible, then glance over you?re shoulder. That would be you?re blind spot. Driving safely is almost impossible without the understanding of your blind spot. All it takes is a quick glance, and if you think you saw something, glance again, before you turn the vehicle wheel, and or move in that direction. Do not turn the wheel at the same time your checking. It defeats the purpose of checking to see if it?s safe. I like to use the word glance, especially if you?re moving the vehicle. When you?re not moving forward or backwards, take a good look around before you roll. It is important to look in the direction you?re going. For further information on driving techniques, please find a recognized driving school nearest you. Owned and operated a driving school for several years. Taught over 2000 kids and older people how to drive. Now operating a golf tee time site at <a href="http://www.golfanchor.net" target="_blank">http://www.golfanchor.net</a> and a sister golf site at <a href="http://www.golfanchor.com" target="_blank">http://www.golfanchor.com</a>
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