TRANSPORTATION MATTERS for IOWA

Message Monday - All the leaves are brown & sky's gray. Check tires today


11-16 leaves are brownHeading into the winter, air temperatures in Iowa can change drastically. Since the air in your tires is a gas, it expands when heated and contracts when cools. According to www.goodyear.com, for every 10 degrees of temperature drop, tires will drop 1-2 pounds of pressure.

An underinflated tire can't maintain its shape and becomes flatter than intended while in contact with the road. If a vehicle's tires are underinflated by only 6 pounds per square inch, it could lead to tire failure and you could experience a significant loss of steering precision and cornering stability. While 6 psi doesn't seem excessively low, remember, it usually represents about 20 percent of the tire's recommended pressure. In addition, this reduction in air pressure can also impact your fuel economy.

It's important to remember that your vehicle's recommended tire pressure is its cold tire inflation pressure. It should be checked in the morning before you drive more than a few miles, or before rising ambient temperatures or the sun's radiant heat affects it.

Here's a quick tutorial on how to check your vehicle’s tire pressure - https://youtu.be/0nHDmrUwh_g. You can also find more information about the importance of keeping your tires properly inflated from tireack.com.

And… here’s the theme song of today’s message - https://youtu.be/N-aK6JnyFmk

For 2020, there have been 282 fatalities reported. That is an increase of nine since last Monday. To see statistics published daily by the Driver Services Bureau, go to the daily fatality report at https://www.iowadot.gov/mvd/stats/daily.pdf

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