EXPATS and residents returning to the kingdom after their summer holidays away are being urged to check the tyres of their vehicles before heading out on a journey, taking into consideration the taxing climate in Bahrain.
One Saar mum discovered a badly-warped, damaged and disintegrating tyre, despite it having plenty of tread, after her car had been sitting in the baking heat.
The British expat was startled that it had deteriorated so badly and said: “I now know that this tyre was parked in the sun for part of the afternoon, under the porch, during the holidays.
“If a car had been parked next to me last Thursday I might not have seen the holes. I was taking it to the garage on Saturday as it had felt a bit strange to drive but there was no puncture when I checked the tyres a few days earlier, so I thought it was just the wheel balancing that needed adjusting.
“I’ve been back exactly one week and at some point this suddenly happened. I have been on the highway every day and just feel very lucky to have spotted the damage in time.”
Regional road safety expert Thomas Eldermann backed up her warning and urged that all vehicle tyres be procured, fitted and maintained properly. “Regularly check the state of all four tyres at the same time for signs of obvious or abnormal wear and tear,” he urged. “Heat plays an important contributor to burst tyres and we see numbers spike in the hot months of the year.”
The police said tyres unfit for use on the roads are the prime cause of cars overturning.
“Tyre bursts are often attributable to poor maintenance and lack of ‘pre-drive’ vehicle checks,” Thomas added. “In the hot season, motorists must periodically – or ideally every time before we start our trip – quickly walk around our vehicles and check their safety worthiness, especially with regards to the proper condition of the tyres.
“Exploding tyres pose a big threat as steering may become uncontrollable, especially when the burst occurs on the frontal ones.
“You can also add that to the sudden shock of the driver who might take inappropriate abrupt action when faced with steering through a tyre burst. In addition, tyre debris on the roads also poses danger to all other vehicles around.”
Yusuf Kiyengo, a service supervisor and Michelin tyre consultant, said the maximum recommended usage of tyres is 50,000km.
A tread depth gauge helps to check the service life of the tyres, available at any tyre specialist, or the user can rely on the wear indicators that most new cars have. “Check the pressure of tyres at least once in two weeks as poorly inflated tires affect the overall performance of the vehicle, including braking distance, handling, safety nd fuel consumption,” he said.
Drivers need to rotate the tyres in accordance with the vehicle manufacturer’s recommendation. “It is good to switch front tyres to rear after about 5,000 km. With this, the wear is optimised over the four tyres as front tyres are used much more than the rear ones. We always offer this service free of charge to customers maintaining their vehicles at our workshop or those who bought tyres from our shops.”
