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CNN Live Today
Motorists Under Pressure to Take Care of Vehicles
Aired April 29, 2002 - 14:41 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Many of us often neglect some basic auto maintenance tasks. With summer driving season just around the corner here, and around the road for that matter, Kathleen Koch fields the pressure for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When it comes to auto maintenance, most Americans stop where the rubber meets the road, rarely ever checking their tires' air pressure or tread.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Occasionally. Probably about maybe two or three times a year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know I've checked the pressure, but not the treads.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Didn't know I was supposed to.
KOCH: A new survey by the Rubber Manufacturers Association of nearly 3,000 drivers found only 11 percent were correctly checking their tire pressure every month. Sixty-six percent didn't even know where to find the proper inflation number. It's a dangerous omission. Six-hundred and fifty people die in accidents each year due to tire- related causes.
(on camera): Part of the problem can be finding somewhere to fill your tires. The Transportation Department found that one in seven gas stations don't even have an air pump, or if they do, it's broken.
(voice-over): Author and car care expert Mary Jackson volunteered to scrutinize my tires, untouched since November.
MARY JACKSON, AUTHOR, "CAR SMARTS": All you need really to make sure that you're keeping up with your tire care is a tire gauge and a penny.
KOCH: A careful check...
JACKSON: Quick, firm pressure.
KOCH: Finds my new tires are under-inflated by 4 pounds -- the small amount that makes a big difference in how much tire surface contacts the road.
JACKSON: And when tires are under-inflated or overinflated, or if they're worn, what happens is the contact patch goes from that to this. And you simply cannot grip the road as well.
KOCH: We made sure to check the tires when they were cold.
(on camera): And if it's not cold, what happens?
JACKSON: If it's not cold, what you start to get is an inaccurate reading. So you want to check your tires in the morning before they've been driven at all, or if the car has been sitting for at least 3 to 4 hours.
KOCH (voice-over): The next step: add just enough air.
(on camera): Does it make a difference, a pound or two, if we left it at 32 when it's supposed to be 30?
JACKSON: It makes a difference a pound. You want it exactly at what the manufacturer recommends.
KOCH (voice-over): The monthly tread check is easiest of all.
JACKSON: Just take the penny and put it in the groove with Lincoln's head down. Now, as you look at it from the side, if you can see the top of Lincoln's head, then you need new tires.
KOCH: The government has proposed requiring systems in cars to automatically check tires, someday taking the pressure off drivers. Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: If you live in New York City, you don't have to worry about it anyway.
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