Wheel separations increase during the spring and fall: OPP
Warmer temperatures means that it’s time for the winter tires to come off in the summers and all season tires to come on. But if you’re not careful, it could also be the scariest time of the year. OPP surgeon Carrie Schmidt says Spring and fall season see an uptick in wheel separations on our roads and it can all happen in an instant and with little warning. Of the about 130, a 140 wheel separations that we investigated last year, about 2/3 of them actually came off of passenger vehicles. So it’s not the big transport trucks that we’re seeing, the significant major problems, It’s those four Wheelers, the passenger vehicles that we’re seeing more often than the big trucks. I teamed up with Luke, the owner of 13 Motorsports, a local mechanic shop in Brampton, to take off my old tires and install some brand new All Seasons. He says it’s important to take a look at older tires. You’re pulling out of storage to see if they’re Rd. ready. There’s a lot of cracking on this tire. There’s also quite a bit of wear on the outside, the inside, the inside shoulder there, and on the outside. So I would say this tire was probably running a little bit lower on pressure. OK, perfect. All right, so we got to take these off of the rim and put on the new tire. Put on the new ones. All right. Sounds good. Keep your fingers much better. Oh my gosh, Under the nails and everything. Oh yeah, Putting in work, even though the tires are on the work doesn’t stop here. So tell me a little bit about a few of the different kinds of mistakes people may run into when it comes to tire changing. That’s a good one. There’s quite a few things. I mean, forgetting to torque the wheels is the most important one, which we did of course, setting your tire pressure and also looking at the tire to make sure that the condition is good. I think those are probably the most common things. So actually measuring the tread to make sure that they’re still usable. Yeah, measuring it as well as visually looking at it for cracks, bubbles, any other kind of defects that might cause you an issue later. So how do people avoid that wheel separation that we kind of see during this time of the year? Definitely torque the wheels, and if you’re not sure, just do it again, it’s not going to hurt. Check the manufacturer’s specification for the wheel torque on this Honda. It was 84 lbs and every car may be different, so definitely check. Another thing to check your surroundings when you’re behind the wheel, it happens within a second or two and many times you just don’t have an opportunity to avoid the collision because it just comes bouncing at you with no warning at all. So again, hyper vigilance, always being aware of your surroundings, looking at, always scanning the road, Being completely aware and present in with the task of driving. Although it is tire changing season, a friendly reminder to check your windshield wipers, check your Briggs and top up your engine fluid. All right, gotta get back to work. Stephanie Henry, City News.