FINDLAY, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As the race car driving star of ABC’s “The Bachelor” and a Cooper safety spokesman, Arie Luyendyk, Jr. knows about love – even when it comes to loving your tires. This Valentine’s Day, Luyendyk is teaming with Cooper Tire’s Tread Wisely™ program, a tire and vehicle safety campaign for teens and young adults, to share three important tire safety checks to keep young drivers safe on the road.
“Nothing says love like keeping yourself and the people you care about safe on the road. Your tires, while often overlooked, are the only thing connecting your car to the road and are extremely important to safe driving. That’s why you should check tire pressure, tread depth and the overall condition of your tires at least once a month and before long road trips,” said Luyendyk. “If you take care of your tires, they will take care of you by getting you safely where you need to go.”
These three important tire safety checks, with a Valentine’s Day-inspired twist, include:
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Love is in the air…pressure |
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| To check your tire pressure, find your car’s ideal pressure listed on the sticker inside your car door, glove box or fuel door, or in the car’s manual. Remove the tire’s valve cap and press a tire gauge firmly onto the valve stem. The end of your tire pressure gauge will pop up and show a reading of the pounds per square inch (PSI) of air pressure in your tires. If this number matches your recommended tire pressure, you’re good to go. If the number is lower than the recommended tire pressure, your tire is underinflated. If the reading on the gauge is higher than the pressure recommended for your car, you need to release some air. | ||
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Your love runs deep…but does your tire tread? |
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| To check your tread depth, use the penny test. Insert the edge of a penny into the most worn groove of your tire tread with Lincoln’s head down and facing you. If the top of Honest Abe’s head is covered by tread, meaning you cannot see the top of his head, the tire tread is in good shape. If the top of his head is visible, you need to replace the tire. | ||
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True love is unconditional…but the overall condition of your tires can change |
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Assess the overall condition of your tires by looking at them closely to ensure there are no cuts, cracks, punctures or bulges. If you spot any of these, get your tires checked by a professional before driving on them. |
Videos featuring Luyendyk that show how to perform these three tire safety checks, as well as additional videos on other important topics such as how to change a flat tire, what to do if involved in an accident, what to do if pulled over by law enforcement, and more, are available on the free Tread Wisely mobile app. The app also includes a unique “I Got There” feature that allows users to set a reminder when leaving home to contact their parents or friends once they’ve arrived at their destination. With just a couple of touches, the app sends a pre-written text to any number of recipients, letting loved ones know that young drivers have made it safely.
The Tread Wisely app is available for download from the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android). To learn more about Tread Wisely, visit www.treadwisely.org.
About Cooper Tire & Rubber Company
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: CTB) is the parent company of a global family of companies that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing and sale of passenger car, light truck, medium truck, motorcycle and racing tires. Cooper's headquarters is in Findlay, Ohio, with manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical and design operations within its family of companies located in more than one dozen countries around the world. For more information on Cooper, visit www.coopertire.com, www.facebook.com/coopertire or www.twitter.com/coopertire.
About Tread Wisely
The Tread Wisely tire and vehicle safety program for young drivers was developed in 2016 when Cooper adopted this as a signature philanthropy cause and selected the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) as a partner in its efforts to educate and motivate young people to take necessary precautions and important safety measures when it comes to their tires and driving. Cooper and NOYS have teamed up to share life-saving messages about tire safety through Tread Wisely social media channels, the web, special youth-directed safety events, and on the ground in communities across the United States. Hundreds of Cooper employees have signed up to serve year-round as Tread Wisely volunteers, demonstrating tire safety in schools, at sporting events, churches and other venues, reaching young drivers in the communities where they live and work.