How To Guard Against Flat Tyre (2)

ROAD SAFETY BY JONAS AGWU

Did you follow the introductory part of my piece on how to guard against tyre burst? If you did not, please I will advise you to kindly spare time to go through it. But in case you choose to foot drag, let me refresh your mind with some of the thoughts I shared in the first part. My major concern was on the pain and disappointment you could experience in the face of a flat tyre. There is also the danger in case it happens in an unsafe area. I also informed you that the antidote for flat tyre is a tyre inflator. To shed more light on how it can save you, I considered the steps you need to take to change to a spare tyre. I compared these with the steps you need to take to utilize the tyre inflator and saw how much time was involved.

In the piece I identified 35steps involved in changing to a spare tire. I asked you how much time and manual work do you think the whole process will take. Assuming each steps takes you about 1 minute (in reality, some steps will take more than 1 minutes), you would be spending about 38 minutes. Remember that you are not a professional vulcanizer so it will take you longer. Let us now look at the process involved in using the tyre inflator. All you need do is simply (1) take the inflator from your booth or pigeon hole, (2) connect the plug to the cigarette lighter of your car and (3) the chuck to the valve stem of the flat tyre (remember the flat tyre is not removed), (4) start your engine and (5) switch on the inflator. In about five minutes, your tyre is inflated and you (6) disconnect the chuck, (7) disconnect the plug, (8) pack the inflator and off you go. The process of connecting (2, 3) and disconnecting/packing (6, 7& 8) the inflator will not take more than a minute! The pumping time is about 5 minutes so in all you will be spending about 7 minutes.

Now compare the 38 minutes you will spend to change to a spare tyre and the 7 minutes on the inflator and you see that the inflator will be saving you more than 80% on time. Not only that, the amount of manual work you do with the inflator is very negligible compared to changing to a spare tyre. Anybody, including women, can use the inflator without a single drop of sweat.

How can the inflator save your life?

The longer you stay on the road fixing a flat tyre the more you increase your chances of being robbed, kidnapped and hit by a careless motorist. If the flat tyre is on the driver’s side (front or back), when you bend down to change to a spare, you are exposing yourself to traffic and risking being crushed. In changing to a spare tyre, your hands are engaged all the way and full attention is required so you would hardly know when danger is looming until it is too late.

What if an ambulance carrying a sick person has to spend about 38 minutes on the way changing to a spare tyre when time is of essence to the survival of the sick person? What of if it happens to medical personnel on an emergency call or security patrol on an emergency assignment? There was a situation when a school bus loaded with children was stranded in an isolated spot because of flat tyre and the driver left the children there in search of a vulcanizer. You can imagine what could have happened to those children; a vehicle could run into them and crush them or kidnappers could have some easy catch there.

As you have seen from above, a tyre inflator will drastically reduce the time spent fixing the flat tyre and consequently the chances of harm befalling you. When engaging an inflator, you don’t need to give it as much attention/concentration as you would to changing to a spare tyre. Once you connect it, you stand up and allow it to operate. While keeping an eye on it, you also have the chance to monitor your surroundings for any impending danger.

The importance of having a personal tyre inflator therefore, cannot be overemphasized especially now we are in the ember months. No matter how careful you may be or how new your tyres are, you cannot totally avoid having a flat tyre. Therefore be prepared by carrying a compact tyre inflator with you so that when it happens, you will minimize the time you spend fixing it especially when it happens in an isolated spot that could pose a risk to your life and valuables. The times we are living in are very dangerous times indeed.

Please note: the tyre inflator is not a replacement for a spare tyre. The law demands that you must have a spare tyre that is in good condition. The tyre inflator is only to help you in an emergency situation so that you can save time and quickly get out of a danger zone to a safer place where you can more conveniently fix the problem. However, in cases of tyre blowout, you have no choice but to change to a spare tyre. But you can drastically reduce the chances of a blow out by ensuring that your tyres are in good condition, and, more importantly, have the correct pressures in them. Incorrect tyre inflation – especially under inflation –is a major cause of tyre blowouts even if you are using brand new tyres