Improper tires cause vehicle accidents [Archives:2006/1011/Letters to the Editor]
By: Ali Al-Sharif
[email protected]
I want to state wholeheartedly that lack of awareness and carelessness are the prime reasons for the alarming number of vehicular road accidents, brutally snatching lives and injuring many, according to statistics.
Motorists need guidance in selecting the correct tires for their vehicles. Drivers generally have a very limited knowledge of the technicalities of tires fitted on their automobiles. Tire dealers have only one main interest, which is how to get money from consumers by selling their products, whereas public motor safety apparently isn't their concern. Well, for the sake of the public's lives, that attitude ought to change.
Incorrect tires on vehicles are contributing factors in the increasing level of accidents due to the following factors:
Winter tires meant for European climates are sold openly in markets. Such tires are perfect for snow and mud in that part of the world. Moreover, motorists in such climatic regions are obliged to change their vehicle's tires for safety and better performance, which is when summer arrives. The technical characteristics of winter tires are rather soft and compounded, while summer ones are designed to resist the heat of the road. Indeed, it would be devastating to use winter tires in our region's climatic variations.
Also sold in the market at rattling prices are industrially defective tires and I assume tire treads is a risky business too. It's useless to talk about worn out tires without drawing attention to the lifespan factor, as well as the correct method of storing tires, which most dealers hardly maintain the required standard.
Concerned authorities should take this matter seriously in order to ensure that measures are taken against non-compliance and whoever deals in the vehicle tire market. More importantly, what's essentially required is to raise public awareness periodically via mass media for the sake of our beloved compatriots.
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