I make a point of asking my Learners on the BIG TOM Intensive Driving Course if they want to run through what to do if you have a flat tyre.
For an event that crops up fairly frequently it can cause a lot of anxiety. There are many causes of a flat tyre, but a common one is driving over a nail. Tyre pressure, tread depth and quality of tyre are important factors in the general safety offered from tyres. Knowing you have a flat tyre is sometimes not as obvious as you might first think. Not all of us can instinctively detect how a flat tyre affects the drive, and yet continuing to drive on a flat represents a significant lack of control in the car (as well as possibly causing more damage to the car). Be a kind soul and make efforts to attract the attention of a driver if they are driving on a flat tyre - they literally may not know what is wrong. The problem is it demands immediate attention, and as a consequence it will definitely affect your plans - very rarely does a flat tyre crop up when we are aimlessly driving round with very little to do! I have a few tips for you:
1. Do a dry run at home on a lazy Sunday afternoon while you are at home. Dads and Grandads were made for this kind of thing! They like nothing more than the opportunity to tinker around with the car. You can use the Operators Manual as a guide of course, but the beauty with having someone helping with some experience is that they will give you handy little tips along the way.
2. Make sure your spare tyre is of the correct pressure - don't assume, actually check it. While you are there, make sure you have all the necessary kit you would need. Newer cars tend to put everything in a specific place, but older cars may not have this luxury. One of the bonuses about doing a dry run at home, is that you can make sure you have everything.
3. There can be a surprising amount of physical strength needed to change a tyre. Nuts can seemingly be on solid, the wheels themselves are heavy, using the jack is tricky. There's nothing like giving it a go to see whether you are able to do it. If not, then there is no shame in that, but at least you now have that knowledge and can prepare properly should the situation arise.
4. A few little extras you might want to consider carrying in the boot. One of those knee pads that gardeners use, thin polystyrene pads, that you can put on the ground to kneel on. May sound odd, but you only need to be somewhere that is muddy or wet or with lots of gravel and you will be pleased you thought of this. A torch - flat tyres don't really care what time of day they feature in your life! A 2L bottle of water has many uses, but in this case, will be handy to wash your hands after the job is done.
5. If you are having no joy, or if you have a flat tyre in a hazardous location, then make sure you have a mobile (charged up) and your breakdown cover details. There is nothing worse than having taken the precaution of buying breakdown cover, but the very time you need it, you don't have the telephone number.
6. Think about your personal safety. Do not wait in your car for instance on a motorway - vehicles can and do get completely wiped out.
When we go to breakdown garages and see the speed at which a tyre is replaced, we can easily underestimate how tricky it can be to replace a flat tyre when we are on the road. You really should be preparing for this cropping up, it is a bit like windscreen damage - it happens. Mention it to your Driving Instructor on your next driving lesson, or if you have passed your test, plan in a dry run at your home - you will not regret the time it takes.
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