Jubee
05-27-2007, 12:48 PM
I am completely obsessive about car seat safety. I also made sure we bought a very safe vehicle (Sienna with side curtain airbags). However, for all my concern about car seats, I realized recently that I have completely ignored my tires and brakes. My husband is not one to worry about these things and I didn't have a clue. Well, the other day he vaguely mentioned that we "might" need a new tire. I looked at the tire in question, and it was falling apart! Chunks of tire were coming off on the side. I did some online research and learned about wear bars on tires and how to use a penny to check wear. Well, all four tires needed replacement. It also turns out that we are very close to needing new brakes.
Based on the way our tires were worn, I believe they had been underinflated for ages. My husband didn't even own a pressure gauge and had not been checking. This is a big safety concern as it can cause a tire to suddenly blow. The wear could also have caused hydroplaning or loss of control. This was a reminder to me that I need to look at the big picture of vehicle safety and not just the car seats. I need to have it all right. I am now going to be checking the tire pressure myself on a regular basis, and we have replaced the tires. Have you checked yours?
Maybe car seat techs should also look at tires and talk about the penny test and inflation. Kind of like our ped asked us if the batteries in our smoke detectors were fresh. Just a thought.
Based on the way our tires were worn, I believe they had been underinflated for ages. My husband didn't even own a pressure gauge and had not been checking. This is a big safety concern as it can cause a tire to suddenly blow. The wear could also have caused hydroplaning or loss of control. This was a reminder to me that I need to look at the big picture of vehicle safety and not just the car seats. I need to have it all right. I am now going to be checking the tire pressure myself on a regular basis, and we have replaced the tires. Have you checked yours?
Maybe car seat techs should also look at tires and talk about the penny test and inflation. Kind of like our ped asked us if the batteries in our smoke detectors were fresh. Just a thought.