Tips on How to Protect Your Tires and Drive on Rough Roads

Your tires are the primary contact you have with the road and it is probably the most abused part of the car under normal conditions. It's perfectly okay to drive on rough roads especially if you have no other choice but you should take extra precautions to take care of your tires. You really can't say when your tires will give up even if its tread is already worn.

The rule of the thumb is to just drive as slow as possible. Common bumpy roads are those that are rocky, under constructions, off-road or even a public road with debris. Driving slowly will give you more time to make decisions on how to drive over that area. If you drive quickly over a bumpy area on the road, it's more likely that you won't be able to react on time and if there is an object that you weren't able to see, it could damage your tires.

While driving slowly, watch out for objects that may puncture your tires such as glass or any other sharp object. Although it's quite difficult to actually look for nails, shards of glass, sharp metals and so on, there may be large objects that may obstruct you. Avoid sharp and protruding rocks and look for a path that is as flat as possible.

When there's a small gap or hole on the road, have you ever tried driving over them quickly? I did a couple of times but it's quite risky since I may run over something that I can't see and damage my tires. The reason why I do this is to lessen the shaking inside the car.

If you drive slowly, the car shakes and it's uncomfortable. It might be possible that driving quickly may work in bumpy roads, especially if it's just in a very small area like in a square meter or so. The problem here is that, as mentioned above, your reaction time is cut significantly and even if you don't feel the rough road, damage could be done to your tires. You won't have enough time to estimate the roughness of the road. The sudden initial contact could even damage your rims if you have small tires. In addition to damage to the wheels or the rims, your suspension may be affected as well.

If you have an SUV, a 4X4 or a heavy duty vehicle, chances are your vehicle can handle rough roads. They usually have very thick tires that are suitable for off-road driving so most likely, you won't have any problem at all when traversing even very rough roads.

Preparing your tires is essential. Who knows what could happen on the roads you're going to drive on. Make sure the tire pressure is adequate and that the tread isn't worn out before you drive. If you are able to veer away from the rough area on the road, then I would suggest that you do so. Just make sure to do it safely.

Source:
Wikipedia - Tire
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire