Tire Tread Test - photo courtesy of consumerreports.org

We’ve had an unusually wet, warm winter thus far for 2011-2012.  From a collision repair perspective, one of the common causes of accidents in wet weather is hydroplaning.  What does this mean?

Hydroplaning occurs when a layer of water builds up between the surface of the road and the tires of your vehicle, leading to loss of traction and preventing the vehicle from responding to control inputs such as steering, braking or accelerating. If it happens to all four wheels simultaneously, the vehicle becomes, in effect, a sled.  This can occur with all forms of precipitation – rain, snow or ice.

An important factor for safe driving in wet conditions is having good tires with sufficient tread depth. Worn tires—especially bald ones—can be deadly on wet roads, where the grooves aren’t deep enough to channel water out from beneath the tread. The result is hydroplaning.  Wet-weather braking and snow traction also decrease as tires wear.  The faster you drive in wet weather with bad tires, the more likely you are to hydroplane and lose control.  An accident is the inevitable result.

Here are some helpful tips for avoiding this driving danger:

• Start by culling out the riskiest rubber. Look for bald tires by checking whether any of the wear bars are flush with the tread’s outer surface. Another way to check whether your vehicle’s tires have reached their wear limit is to insert a penny into each groove, Lincoln’s head down, as shown above. Replace the tire if the top of Abe’s head becomes uncovered by any of the grooves.
• Slow down. And leave added room between your vehicle and the one in front of you. Safety experts recommend a two-to-three-second lag between the time the vehicle ahead passes a sign or other fixed object and the point at which your vehicle reaches it. Double that distance in rain or snow to give yourself more time to brake.
• If your tires hydroplane, back off the gas pedal to regain control.

Accidents happen, despite best intentions.  Dalton Collision is here when you need collision repair services.  Call us at 865-933-9818 to schedule your repair or ask any questions you may have.

Make the Right Decision – Choose Dalton Collision!

Body Shop Business · Dalton Collision · Hydroplaning safety tips · Repair tips

We’re in the beginning weeks of November already!  We have several details on new projects to share with you, along with some safety tips, so we decided to do an old fashioned “This and That” kind of post.

Safety Tip:  Fall and winter months open up hunting season for deer.  We’re sure everyone has seen news footage of the damage that can happen when a vehicle hits a deer.  Vehicles can be totaled and both humans and wildlife can come to serious physical harm.  If you’re in an area where hunting is common, be mindful as you’re driving.  Gunfire can startle all manner of wildlife into darting out across a road unexpectedly.  While you can’t ever be fully prepared for such an occurrence, driving through those areas a bit more slowly might allow you to have a bit quicker reaction time to avoid a collision.  Of course, if you do experience such an accident, Dalton Collision is always here to help you with your repair needs.

If you’re following our Facebook fan page, then you’re aware that we’re running a fun weekly Tennessee Trivia Contest! Since it’s football season, we’re alternating between UT football trivia and Tennessee history questions.  So far, you all seem to be enjoying the contest and we’re having fun with it too.  Remember, the first person writing the correct answer on our Facebook or Twitter wall gets their name entered into the monthly drawing for a FREE Dalton Collision t-shirt.  If you’re not already following us on Facebook and Twitter, please take a minute to visit each page and follow/Like.

Coming up in December, we’ll be posting information on our new weekly contest/monthly drawing.  Don’t worry, we’ll post the link on Facebook and Twitter for that article so you don’t miss it!  The new contest will have bigger prizes and more details to explain and will start in January 2012.

In the meantime, would you be surprised to hear that people are still calling us and bringing their cars by for repairs of hail and storm damages incurred back in the spring months of this year? There was so much widespread damage throughout the greater Knoxville area that many repair shops were implementing waiting lists for their customers.  Dalton Collision hasn’t turned anyone away for repair service needs!  Yes, we’ve been incredibly busy, but we have kept repairs rolling along smoothly and we choose not to implement waiting lists.  If you’re still waiting to get storm damages to your car dealt with, give us a call at 865-933-9818 and we’ll get your car taken care of.

Make the Right Decision – Choose Dalton Collision!

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