Tire Safety Tips and Technology

As the weather heats up, remember to check your tires. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warns motorists to properly inflate tires during the summer months, when heat and hot roadways increase the likelihood of tire failure. Under-inflated tires and hot weather are "a dangerous combination", cautions the NHTSA.

They recommend following the tire pressure PSI guidelines found on the placard on your driver's side door and in your owners manual as well as checking your tire pressure monthly to avoid blowouts.

(Read more safety tips from the NHTSA here: http://www.nhtsa.gov/About+NHTSA/Press+Releases/SAFETY+ADVISORY:+NHTSA+Urges+Drivers+to+Check+Tires+During+Hot+Weather)

However, tire blowouts may soon become a thing of the past as airless tires move towards production for consumer vehicles. Already in use in some agricultural vehicles and ATVs, airless tires provide shock absorption and traction without the potential for over or under inflation. Airless tires will have to pass rigorous safety tests before being used at highway speeds, but Hankook is optimistic that they could one day match conventional tire performance. (

(Read more about this technology at: http://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/transportation/advanced-cars/airless-tires-roll-towards-consumer-vehicles)