5 Automotive Safety Tips

In terms of automotive safety, here are five things to consider:

1. Tires. Here is a good article talking about how important tires are: http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/buying-maintenance/videos/a33177/this-is-why-tires-are-the-most-important-modification-for-your-car/.
   a. Tire brand can make a difference in your tire performance. According to Consumer Reports, the top three tire brands are Michelin, Pirelli, and Continental (1).
   b. Besides tire brand, another thing to consider are all-season, summer, and winter tires. Summer tires are supposed to give you superior grip in warm weather and winter tires are supposed to give you superior grip in cold weather as opposed to all-season tires (2). Not only are summer tires and winter tires supposed to give you better grip depending on the temperature, but they are also supposed to be superior in wet conditions as well. To achieve this they have different tread patters and use different rubber compounds. A lot of people that have two sets of tires use two sets of wheels, which is something else you may want to consider if you go that route.
   c. Another safety issue with tires is tire life. The older a tire is, the more the rubber degrades, and as such the worse the handling is. Tire life is considered to have been a factor in Paul Walker’s death by some (3). “Since 2000, the week and year the tire was produced has been provided by the last four digits of the Tire Identification Number with the 2 digits being used to identify the week immediately preceding the 2 digits used to identify the year” (4). Generally speaking if your tires are over six years old, you might want to consider replacing them, including your spare tire (5).
   d. The other thing to keep in mind about tires, is the tire pressure. Tire pressure is very important for the safety and longevity of your tires. If tire pressure is too high then it increases the chances of a blowout. If your tire pressure is too high or low, the tires will wear poorly and have less grip. The correct tire pressure can be found on the inside of the door of your vehicle or in your owner’s manual. The tire pressure on the wall of the tire is generally for max tire pressure so you shouldn’t use that, otherwise you will be overinflating your tires (6).
2. Brakes. Another important component of your vehicle is your brakes. Stock brakes generally don’t have the best stopping power. In order to improve your stopping power, you can either upgrade just your front brake pads for around $100, installed, or you can upgrade your whole front brake kit for around $1500. The reason to upgrade your front brakes is they “generate up to 75 percent of the vehicle’s stopping force” (7).
3. Headlights. Headlights are obviously very important to safety, because the sooner you see objects in the road in the dark, the sooner you can try to avoid said objects. Halogen headlights are considered to have the worst lighting, and most vehicles still come with halogen headlights. If you have halogen headlights and you don’t feel your headlights are very good, one option is to upgrade to HID headlights. However, you will need to upgrade your headlight housing to do so, which can be very costly. Instead, for about $50, you can upgrade your bulbs to brighter bulbs. Just be aware that brighter bulbs usually have a shorter life.
4. Drive type. Drive type is an important safety consideration when talking about wet roads. A vehicle that only has power going to two wheels on wet roads can more easily lose traction as opposed to a vehicle that has power going to all four wheels. As such, on wet roads, all-wheel drive/four-wheel drive (AWD/4WD) vehicles are safer than two wheel drive (2WD) vehicles. Just remember improved traction doesn’t translate to improved handling or braking, which is what your tires and brakes are for (8).
5. Mirror positioning. In order to avoid accidents when changing lanes, it is very important to position your mirrors properly. Here are the recommendations for adjusting them:
   a. To adjust the driver’s side-view mirror, place your head against the left side window and set the mirror so you can just barely see the side of the car in the mirror’s right side.
   b. To adjust the passenger’s side-view mirror, position your head so that it is just above the center console. Set the mirror so you can just barely see the side of the car in the left side of the mirror. If the vehicle is not equipped with remove mirror-adjustment controls, you may need assistance when properly positioning this mirror (9).

1. http://www.consumerreports.org/tires/best-tire-brands/
2. https://www.bridgestonetire.com/tread-and-trend/drivers-ed/summer-tires-vs-all-season-tires
3. http://www.thedrive.com/opinion/5189/the-truth-behind-what-caused-paul-walkers-fatal-crash
4. https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11
5. https://www.edmunds.com/car-care/how-old-and-dangerous-are-your-tires.html
6. https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=8
7. http://knowhow.napaonline.com/front-brakes-vs-rear-brakes-whats-the-difference/
8. http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a3091/the-myth-of-the-all-powerful-all-wheel-drive-15202862/
9. http://seniordriving.aaa.com/improve-your-driving-skills/prepare-drive/how-use-adjust-your-mirrors/