Driving With Bald or Worn-Out Tires | GoGulong

A bald or worn-out tire is one that has lower treads than what is required for road safety. Tire treads are the key pieces that keep contact between your car and the road. Lack of it is hazardous to your safety while driving.

Driving on bald tires is flat out unsafe and shouldn’t be done. It’s risky and, therefore, shouldn’t be neglected. If you see that your tires are worn out, then it’s time to buy replacements.

Taking care of your vehicle equates to taking care of yourself when you drive, and your tires are part of that responsibility. Learn more about bald tires and how driving on them is dangerous.

Increased risk of tire failure

Bald tires have worn out treads that could spell danger regardless of the condition of the road you’re driving on. The risk is higher on wet roads, but there’s also a risk of driving on dry ones. It may not be as significant as when driving with bald tires on wet roads, but it could still cause your tires to blowout due to a bald tire’s thinner structure.

Poor braking efficiency

Your car’s brakes are a crucial safety feature. When you drive on bald tires, it reduces your car’s braking efficiency because of the lack of traction. It compromises your car’s ability to stop when you need to, which is why replacing your worn-out tires with all season Yokohama tires or any brand that fits your vehicle is safer.

Loss of pressure

Bald tires also lose tire pressure a lot faster than ones with enough tread depth. Worn-out tires are even more prone to accidents when under-inflated, which is common in tires with less sufficient tread depth. It’ll cause skidding during a sudden step on the brake, it will incur expenses because it affects gas mileage, and it makes the car tougher to steer, even in dry conditions.

Even if you regularly check your tire pressure, it’ll continue to decrease faster because your tires are worn-out.

Heat buildup

Apart from providing traction for easier driving, treads also help in cooling down your tire by allowing air to flow in between its grooves. Bald tires with insufficient treads won’t be able to handle the heat coming from the friction between your tires and the road. Overheated tires will also cause blowouts, which can lead to accidents.

Prone to hydroplaning

Driving on bald tires makes you more prone to accidents, especially during wet conditions. You’re more exposed to hydroplaning, which occurs when you drive while raining. Hydroplaning is the result when tires with shallow treads aren’t able to channel water away from itself.

Hydroplaning leads to lesser braking efficiency too. Tests on bald tires have shown that driving on them significantly reduces the optimum control you have in your car during wet conditions.

How to determine a bald tire

Luckily, you can spot a bald tire just by merely looking at one, and in case you forget to look, your driving experience on one will let you know.

• • Low tread

You can perform a tread check using a coin. Take one and insert its edge into a groove in the tire’s tread. If the coin’s head is fully visible, it needs to be replaced.

• • Wear bars

A tire that has worn-out treads will have a more noticeable tire wear bars. These bars indicate the treadwear a tire has absorbed.

• • Deep cracks

If you see cuts that are deep enough to expose steel belts or body cords, then you have bald tires.

Replace your bald tires

For the sake of your safety, replace your old, worn-out tire as soon as you can. Our nearest tire shop will certainly have one for you!