Teaching Teens Tire Safety - St. Louis Auto Accident Attorney

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for young adults. Also, teens are more likely to be involved in an accident due to their inexperience and lack of insight to drive safely. Whenever we talk of teen driving, the focus is often on preventing dangerous driving habits such as drunk driving and distracted driving, and educating them about defensive driving skills. However, there is little said and done about teaching teens how to maintain their vehicles well. It has been observed that some teens are not aware of even the basics of vehicle maintenance, and why it is important. They do not know to how to check and identify problems with their vehicles that could lead to accidents. In this post, we will discuss why it is important to teach tire safety to teenagers.

Bad tires can cause accidents

One of the most common and biggest risks associated with improper car maintenance is that over the time a problem will develop with one of the tires. In United States, of the 2.2 million motor vehicle accidents that occur each year, 12 percent are in some way caused by tire problems. In other words, one tire related accident occurs every two minutes.

Just by checking the tires regularly, and ensuring that they are maintained properly, many tire related accidents can be prevented. Vehicle owners should follow manufacturer guidelines for tire replacement, and tires should be inflated to the range set by the manufacturer. If you feel that the tread has become too worn, you should have the tires replaced. Unfortunately, teens do not always know how to check for tire pressure and tire tread. This is partly because only 16 states require driver’s education curriculum to include a lesson on tire maintenance. This means, the only way teens can learn about vehicle and tire maintenance is through their parents, or their own research. According to a study, around 3/4 of teen drivers received information about tire safety from their parents. What makes this problem even bigger is the fact that only a third of parents admitted that they were knowledgeable about tire maintenance.

Our St. Louis auto accident attorneys believes that driver’s education should be more comprehensive and that almost 300,000 accidents involving inexperienced drivers could be prevented each year with better driver education. It is extremely important for teenagers to learn some simple ways to check on their tires. One such test is known as the Lincoln test, which can be used to determine if a tire has become too worn. To perform this test, you should put a penny in the tread of the tire with Linolns head facing downward. If the tip of Lincoln’s head is showing when the coin is inside the tread, it is sign that the tread is too worn, and you should have the tire replaced to reduce the risk of an accident.

If you have been in an accident caused by an inexperienced driver, you should contact a St. Louis car wreck lawyer to understand your rights.