It was a very hot and busy weekend around here as summer holidays are kicking off and lots of people were taking to the road to start their vacations. I guess it could have been statistically correct with the amount of drivers on the road but it appeared as though there were an absolute ton of people experiencing flat tires. Having learned how to do this through my own experience and helping others, I discovered yesterday that there are a lot of drivers on the road that do not know how to change a tire.
There was this Dodge Caravan that had fallen off of the jack and looked like it was going to slide off the shoulder into the ditch. I had to wonder what had happened while they were fixing that flat tire. The wheel was no where to be seen and the rotor was melting into the road surface.
Then I saw another person in a parkade on their cell phone, passenger rear tire as flat as a pancake. That is a little tougher situation. Someone parked on either side of you, it could be hard to figure out how to change a tire in that situation. If I wasn't in such a hurry I would have stopped to help myself. I am sure it could be done, but this dude didn't even have a tire iron out, just making a phone call instead.
Believe it or not, I ran into a third person later in the evening that was having trouble figuring out how to change a tire. Just a couple of teenagers, I think they were on a date.
It was great opportunity to be a Boy Scout and help them out. They couldn't have been much older than 18 years old and they young guy told me he had only watched his Dad do it once a long time ago. Their age and lack of experience cause me to wonder if this shouldn't be taught in Driver Training.
I believe if anyone took the time to read this article I found at The Grumpy Mechanic Blog: How To Change A Tire On A Car and spent an hour on a Saturday doing a trial run on their own car, that it would boost their confidence as a driver and they would find that it is not at all difficult.
Murphy's Law states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong and auto break downs never seem to happen at a good time. Learning how to change a tire before you need to is a great way to be prepared.
Chances are you will never have to worry about a flat tire in dark alley or in a snow storm on a road to nowhere. It does seem like a great skill to have if you are ever in a position where no one else is around to help out though.
There was this Dodge Caravan that had fallen off of the jack and looked like it was going to slide off the shoulder into the ditch. I had to wonder what had happened while they were fixing that flat tire. The wheel was no where to be seen and the rotor was melting into the road surface.
Then I saw another person in a parkade on their cell phone, passenger rear tire as flat as a pancake. That is a little tougher situation. Someone parked on either side of you, it could be hard to figure out how to change a tire in that situation. If I wasn't in such a hurry I would have stopped to help myself. I am sure it could be done, but this dude didn't even have a tire iron out, just making a phone call instead.
Believe it or not, I ran into a third person later in the evening that was having trouble figuring out how to change a tire. Just a couple of teenagers, I think they were on a date.
It was great opportunity to be a Boy Scout and help them out. They couldn't have been much older than 18 years old and they young guy told me he had only watched his Dad do it once a long time ago. Their age and lack of experience cause me to wonder if this shouldn't be taught in Driver Training.
I believe if anyone took the time to read this article I found at The Grumpy Mechanic Blog: How To Change A Tire On A Car and spent an hour on a Saturday doing a trial run on their own car, that it would boost their confidence as a driver and they would find that it is not at all difficult.
Murphy's Law states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong and auto break downs never seem to happen at a good time. Learning how to change a tire before you need to is a great way to be prepared.
Chances are you will never have to worry about a flat tire in dark alley or in a snow storm on a road to nowhere. It does seem like a great skill to have if you are ever in a position where no one else is around to help out though.
About the Author:
Learning how to change a tire is an important skill to have. A flat tire always seems to happen at the worst possible time, so knowing how to change a tire in advance is knowledge that can keep you safe and keep you on the road should you ever experience a flat.
