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Safety On Highway 2000
Superior engineering and maintenance make Highway 2000
Jamaica’s most efficient way to commute between Kingston and
Clarendon. However, drivers must pay more attention to their
own driving and safety techniques in order to make their use
of the roadway safe and enjoyable.
To date, there have been 207 accidents on Highway 2000
and a great portion of these accidents (27.5%) were the
results of tyre failure. The speed at which vehicles travel
on the Highway not only requires a high level of mechanical
fitness but also a high level of tyre fitness. It is
therefore critically important for motorists to be ware of
the elements that contribute to tyre safety.
Influences on the life of your tyres include driving
style, the type of car you drive, where you drive and the
level of tyre maintenance you perform. There are, however,
several things you can do to select the best tyres, for your
vehicle and to take the best care of them.
Firstly, drivers should know the right size, type and
trend.
Size: The vehicle owner’s manual or the label inside the
glove box, or on the car door, will give you the proper tyre
size. This is important information, because fitting an
undersized tyre on your car can result in overheating or
overloading the tyre, while an oversized tyre can rub on the
body of the car.
Type: Performance cars will require performance tyres
that are typically at their best on dry pavement, while
pickups and SUVs will use light truck tyres that are geared
towards carrying heavy loads and dealing with occasional
off-road conditions.
Tread: There are several kinds of tread. “Mud and rain”
tyres are all season tyres, capable of providing good
traction in rain, and mud.
Secondly, the correct maintenance of tyres is critical.
The single greatest cause of tyre damage is improper
inflation, which leads to unnecessary stress also poor fuel
averages. To avoid this, ensure that tyre pressure is always
correct. Check your pressure every two weeks. It is best to
check your tyres when they are cold as checking hot tyres
will reflect incorrect pressures and which will reduce once
the tyre gets cold. Also, make sure the spare is always
pressed up correctly.
Removing small stones and pebbles from the treads is also
a must. As far as possible, overnight parking should be on
hard surfaces. Avoid parking in waste or stagnant water on
the streets where such water is usually very corrosive and
will eat through the sidewalls of tyres.
The best way to safeguard your tyres and give them a long
life is by using your right foot carefully. Hard braking or
sudden, jerky, racing starts cut the life of your tyres.
Spinning the wheel is another disaster for tyres. Refrain
from turning the front wheel while the vehicle is
stationery. This also causes excessive wear. |
