Improper care of your tires can be a mistake that has the potential to put you at great risk when operating your vehicle. While there are many best practices that individuals should follow when caring for their tires, there are a few common mistakes that you may want to be especially diligent about avoiding with your vehicle.

Failing To Rotate The Tires

Your tires will suffer substantial wear from the use that they experience. However, this wear will not be evenly distributed across the tires. Rather, there will be some spots that will tend to develop wear more quickly than others. Rotating the tires periodically can reduce the tendency by allowing the wear to be spread more evenly across the tires. As a result, tires that are regularly rotated will tend to last substantially longer. Fortunately, facilities that perform oil changes will often have the capability to quickly rotate the tires of your vehicle for a nominal charge.

Not Conducting Regular Visual Inspections

Visually inspecting the tires can be a step that individuals will often fail to take. While your car may have a variety of sensors and diagnostics that can alert you to mechanical issues, this is often not the case with car tires. In particular, issues with the tread being excessively worn, small punctures being present, or other signs of damage can be easily seen by drivers that perform assessments of all four of their tires at regular intervals. When performing this inspection, using a flashlight can be advisable. Metal fragments that may have gotten lodged in the tire will reflect off the light and be easier to see.

Driving On Tires With The Wrong Pressure

The incorrect pressure in the tires can be a source of serious performance problems, and it can also lead to the tire suffering excessive wear as a result. In cases where the pressure is particularly high or low, it can increase the risk of a sudden tire failure that may cause you to lose control of the vehicle. When checking the pressure in your tires, you should always use a gauge to get an accurate measurement of the tires' psi. While a person may assume that these problems can be easy to see with the unaided eye, this is not actually the case. Situations involving inflation issues impacting all of the tires can be particularly difficult as you may not be able to notice a problem in one tire by comparing it to the other. 

For more information, visit a local tire shop.