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Many people have been wondering what could be the cause of the incessant tyre-burst accidents on Sierra Leonean Roads.
The major cause is that we put too much pressure on our tyres.
How did I know?
I was preparing for a journey, I changed some of my tyres and I asked the vulcanizer ‘what is the recommended tyre pressure?’ He said 50.
I said alright, he should inflate it to 50 all around.
When I got to where I was going, I was discussing with some people the issue of a prominent Sierra Leonean that died on The road due to a burst tyre and wonder what could have happened because nobody could imagine such an individual would be traveling with expired tyre’s as many would think is the major cause of tyre bursts.
A man who lived in the US for many years said that the major cause of tyre bursts in Sierra Leone is that we put too much pressure on our tyres and that each car has recommended tyre size and pressure written on it by the manufacturer.
I was surprised and begged him to come and show me where it was written on my car.
To my greatest surprise, it’s by the driver’s door which I enter every day without noticing it.
By the time we checked, the recommended pressure for my tyres is 32! And I just traveled with tyres on a pressure of 50! He took me around his compound and showed me that of the cars (which includes a jeep and a sienna) there, the highest was 32.
Some were even 29!
He further explained that tyres are made of rubber and expand at high temperatures. So, when you are traveling in the afternoon when the asphalt on the road is hot, the tyre will want to expand.
If the pressure in the tyre is too much and wouldn’t accommodate the expansion, a burst is likely to happen at that time.
Please check the recommended tyre pressure for your vehicle and others you know.
As many as possible Sierra Leoneans need to read this.
