The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has jumped into the “Deflate-Gate” fray. In a recent blog post, the director of the agency’s Office of Highway Safety laments consumers’ limited knowledge of tire inflation and vehicle safety versus their hyperawareness of a football’s inflation pressure.
“Planning a party for hardcore fans? Ask them what the NFL found out about the footballs in ‘Deflate-Gate.’ They’ll probably tell you without missing a beat that 11 of 12 balls tested were underinflated by two pounds per square inch. Then ask them when they last checked the pressure of the tires on their vehicles,” says Don Karol.
Karol's blog post includes some interesting statistics:
* drivers in the United States put more than 2.9 billion miles on their tires annually;
* there are nearly 11,000 tire-related crashes that claim nearly 200 lives each year; and
* many of these crashes can be prevented through proper tire maintenance, which includes proper tire inflation!
To read Karol’s post, visit: https://safetycompass.wordpress.com/.
