THE WORN TYRE

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 17, 21 January 1939, Page 8

THE WORN TYRE

NOT FOR HOLIDAY TOURS

DANGEROUS AND VEXATIOUS

Worn tyres are poor equipment for the holiday. tour. Quite apart from the fact that they are in themselves a danger, they give more trouble. Even if they do not puncture—it is a thousand to one that they will —they will probably leak air—old tyres generally have old tubes—and. be a nuisance generally. If. motorists feel they must take the last ounce out" of their tyres it should be done in knock-' about work under safe conditions and where delays are neither of moment nor far from where equipment can be obtained.

Not every motorist, seems to realise the seriousness of the hazards associated with driving on badly worn tyres or smooth covers. They do not appreciate the fact that whereas the brakes stop the wheels it is the tyre treads biting on the surface of the road that stop the car. If the tyres do not bite the car will skid. Under

some conditions it will skid even when proceeding quite slowly. The patterned ,tyre tread exists for the specific purpose of biting the road surface. The tread performs the same function as do hobnails in boots, only that hobnails in boots are more dangerous on hard, polished surfaces than is a plain leather or rubber sole. That seems a. contradiction, but the inference sliould be clear. Hobnails grip on the surfaces they are intended for, and so do patterned treads on the surfaces for which they are designed. A smooth' tyre is always liable to skid; an old one is also liable to bad puncture or a burst, and any or all of these can proves fatal. They are practically certain to occur, too, when there is extra, stress such as ascending or descending; a, hill, turning, a corner, or braking in eiriergericy.

Don't tour on worn tyres. If you persist, remember, don't take risks that may entaij emergency, braking, and never lbs in a hurry*