Drive on Good Roads when Possible When it comes to tyres, Basingstoke offers perfect road surfaces: wide, clean roads with a good camber to clear excess water, and not too many bumps or pot-holes that can affect a tyre by weakening it or scraping the rubber. Check your Treads In dry weather your treads simply help the tyre to grip onto the road, but even a completely smooth tyre will hold reasonably well on a dry well-drained road. When it is raining, your tread can quickly become the only thing between you and a skid. This is because the tread patterns are designed to suck water up – and therefore off the road between the tyre and the road – allowing the tyre to ‘bite down’ onto the road’s surface, almost suctioning itself onto the road so improved is a tyre’s grip with the right tyres. If your tyre treads do not do their job, the car is at risk of hydroplaning, which is a kind of skid, when the car is going along, out of touch with the road because it is ‘surfing’ on a thin layer of water instead. While the road ahead is straight and clear, this is not a problem (although it will feel alarming): when the road is busy and full of turns, an accident is almost certain to follow. And a car does not have to aquaplane for long for things to go spectacularly wrong, it can take a second or two to make the difference between a regular drive and a bad one. Keep Tyres in Great Condition It can be tempting just to jump into our car and drive off, but instigating a system of regular checks can keep your tyres in good nick, and ultimately save lives, which sounds dramatic but is simply truth. Check your tyres visually about once a fortnight or so, more often if you drive a lot, especially on poor roads. Look for signs of damage to the tyre, both the part that touches the road and the sidewall: cracks, weaknesses (usually seen as a sidewall bulge) and missing chunks of rubber are all of concern, as is a hole or even a puncture which may still have the sharp nail or glass embedded in it. If you see something that worries you, head to your mechanic and ask them to check it out: better safe than sorry when you know the rainy season is on its way. If you need new ones rather than repairs to your tyres, Basingstoke has a good range of sizes and types that will keep you safely on the road, no matter how bad the weather may get. For tyres in Basingstoke, visit Headley Tyres or shop online via their website. They do not charge any upfront payment for online bookings.