Webmaster's note: Car care - its something we have to care about in order to keep our cars running
and looking good. The article below and its "partners" (from
www.carcare.org) will
give you some simple direction for keeping your car or truck, shiny, clean and
running great.
The link at the bottom of the page
is an excellent compliment to the article but is not affiliated with Carcare.org.
Worn out tires and windshield wiper blades are symptoms of
neglected vehicle maintenance that put drivers and passengers at
serious risk during the typically rainy months of spring.
Thin tire treads create hazardous driving conditions when
water builds up on the roadway, according to the Car Care
Council. Deep tread accommodates accumulated water; thin tread
does not. Thin tread causes the tire to hydroplane – ride up on
a film of water, losing contact with the pavement, similar to
driving on ice.
The simplest way to check tire tread depth is with a penny.
Insert the penny into the grooves of the tread. If you are able
to see all of Lincoln's head, the tire needs replacement.
Rainy weather also affects driver visibility. Because 90
percent of driving decisions depend on good vision, a clean
windshield is imperative. Streaking and smearing impair vision
and are caused by worn windshield blades. One out of every five
vehicles that went through the Car Care Council’s check lanes
had worn wiper blades.
"Replacing worn wiper blades is easy and inexpensive," said
Rich White of the Car Care Council. "Why put it off until
there's a downpour and your blades are chattering and smearing
the windshield?"
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