Be Mindful of Road Debris and Tires

With the end of winter, the roads seem to cough up debris. Be it components from other vehicles, contractor items fallen from trailers, or branches and twigs, you might be running the gauntlet. And, your tires will be the first to take any hits. So, frequent and thorough inspection of tire treads, wear and tear, and proper inflation are a must. This is what you can do:

• Bend or kneel at each tire, looking for cracking or creasing around the outer edges of the tread. Significant wear of this kind and you'll need new tires.
• While there, measure the tread depth with use of your finger. Take fingertip and run along tread channels. If there's not much depth to each channel, new tires are needed. Also, look for nails, screws or bolts lodged.
• Check for proper tire inflation using a calibrated measurement tool inserted in the valve stem.