National Tire Safety Week 2023: June 26 – July 3
Jonathan Stotts
Senior PR & Communications Manager
The week leading into July 4th is an opportune time to discuss tire safety as kids, students, parents and individuals are kicking off their summer fun. Many of them are heading on a good old American road trip. So, as we pivot to summer, we want drivers to take a moment to pause and really think about what’s riding on their tires.
National Tire Safety Week
National Tire Safety Week is an annual initiative of the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) that aims to educate motorists about simple yet essential steps for proper tire care, safety and maintenance as a critical part of road safety. It is an especially important week for those in the industry as it’s an opportunity every single year to bring heightened awareness to the topic.
USTMA and their associated members of industry leading tire manufacturers partners with organizations like AAA, Discount Tire, many State Departments of Transportation, the American Trucking Association, the National Lieutenant Governors Association, local police and sheriff departments, and new partners like Anyline and Students Against Destructive Decisions. Every single partner plays a very important role in helping to get life-saving information to American motorists.
Where the Rubber Meets the Road
Today’s cars and tires are sophisticated and safer than ever before. Yet there can be an overreliance on technology and not enough personal responsibility, until we face an issue. Tires are the only part of the car that touch the road and their grip is essential for your safety. It directs your ability to break, to turn, to accelerate and to stay stable at high speeds.
Consider this: the contact patch of each tire is about the size of an adult palm. That’s just four areas of tread the size of your hand controlling your automobile and connecting you to the road every time you drive.
- Americans drove more than 3.169 trillion miles in 2022 according to the Federal Highway Administration.
- Worn out tires are three times more likely to be involved in a crash than tires with sufficient tread depth, according to NHTSA.
- 72%, nearly three quarters of US drivers lack knowledge about their tire safety.
- 42% of Americans plan at least one road trip in 2023, according to a Forbes Advisor survey.
It is such an important but often overlooked topic of conversation because virtually every aspect of our lives and economy relies on some form of transportation supported by tires.
Everything Runs on Tires
As an individual or family, whether you have a car, or whether you take a cab or a bus, tires help us to get to important destinations. Tires get us to our jobs, the grocery store, our errands, our medical appointments and our children to and from school.
Also think about the important people services and the American industries that rely on tires, like our nation’s amazing truck driver drivers who transport millions of goods each day. As well as our U.S. postal workers, police, firefighters, critical medical professionals – including EMTs, bus drivers, airline pilots, Amazon drivers, teachers, coaches and our military. These are all the bedrocks of our U.S. economy and country. Tires make mobility possible, and our society depends on them.
Taking good care of your tires just takes moments, and it has other benefits in addition to safety. Tire safety is everyone’s responsibility. All drivers need to play an active part in taking regular care of their tires. The National Tire Safety Week was created to raise awareness about tire safety and to educate motorists about simple and important steps for proper tire care and maintenance.
The above article summarizes key points in an Auto Tech Show podcast interview with the Kim Kleine Vice President of Public Affairs at the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association and Kevin Rohlwing, Chief Technical Officer at the Tire Industry Association.
