When you have a busy life, it’s easy to overlook the smaller maintenance issues of your car. Some problems, such as a small tear in the backseat upholstery have little if any safety consequences. Other seemingly trivial maintenance concerns are anything but trivial. Here are five of them:
Dirt
Dirt or grime in the wrong places can have catastrophic consequences. Two important areas are your headlights and windshield. Excessive dirt buildup on your headlights reduces their light output. This reduces your reaction distance when night driving. Drivers tend to out drive the reach of their headlights. Dirty headlights make the problem worse. By the time you see a fallen tree or pedestrian on the road, it may be too late to avoid a collision.
A dirty windshield obscures your view of the road and therefore your reaction distance. In addition, it causes glare from the headlights of oncoming traffic. Although many drivers eventually get around to cleaning the outside of their windshields, the inside surface is a common oversight. Oily smudges, cigarette tar buildup, and emissions from dashboard plastics contribute to the general grime buildup on the inside surface.
Old Wiper Blades
Windshield wipers become less pliable with age. This causes streaking, which worsens if the wiper rubber cracks or if sections tear off. Streaking during rain reduces your view of the road and increases glare from oncoming traffic.
Cracked Windshield
A small crack is easy to ignore at first. However, temperature changes and aerodynamic forces can increase its size. Windshields with substantial cracks are more easily shattered by flying road debris such as a stone. A cracked windshield also reduces the strength of your roof, and increases the risk of its collapse in a rollover accident.
An Old Spare Tire
If your car is older than 5 or 6 years and the original spare tire is still in your trunk, you are risking a blowout if you ever use it. Rubber slowly oxidizes over the years, making it brittle like an old rubber band. Hot environments such as your trunk in the summer, accelerate tire oxidation. The blowout danger is increased if you fail to keep the spare fully pressurized.
Low Tire Pressure
Driving on under-pressurized tires weakens the rubber and its attachment to reinforcing belting within the tires. This increases your risk of a blowout, especially in hot weather. While it’s easy to overlook your tire pressures, neglecting them endangers yourself, your passengers, and others on the road.
If you were injured in a car accident because of another driver’s negligence, an experienced DC accident attorney can help you get the compensation you deserve. Contact us at 844-Take-MyCase or visit our website at www.844TakeMyCase.com.
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