When you have children in the car, you will need to make sure that you have all the necessary safety features to make the drive as safe as possible. When it comes to safety people often think of the normal safety products such as seat belts, airbags and anti-lock braking systems. What is often neglected is the tires and the importance of them for providing the safety and performance of your car.
When driving with children you will need to make sure that you have a child seat and in some cases you will need to have a seat belt adjuster for kids. It is always safer to place children in backward position in a children seat and preferably in the back seat for extra protection. Make sure that you don’t leave the kids unattended for a longer period of time in the car. This is very important during the summer, where the inside of the car can become extremely hot and cause serious dehydration and even fatality.
If you have already selected your safe vehicle, the only dynamic part is then the tires, which can be changed. Tires should always be replaced as soon as the wear out, as they will start losing a lot of their key properties. Braking distance is increased; bad grip when taking sharp turns leading to skidding and increased risk for aquaplaning. All these decrease the safety of your car.
It is also important to match the tires according to the seasons of the year. Tires are mostly developed for a specific season, so that they can optimize the performance. This however, can make them very bad for other conditions. This is what happens with the summer or all-season tires during the winter season. The whole tread design and rubber compound is optimized for dry and wet roads in warm temperatures. For cold temperatures and snow, ice or slush require a different rubber compound that will let the tire remain soft and flexible and a tread design that can provide you with grip.
The main winter approved tires are the dedicated winter tires, which are available as studded or non-studded. The studded tires use metal studs to create good grip and the non-studded will use unique tread design and gripping particles to achieve good grip. There is also some winter-approved all year round tires called all-weather tires.
For more information regarding safe tires, visit: www.nokiantires.com
