Are You Maintaining Your Vehicle? It Will Help You Avoid A New Haven Auto Accident

Maintaining your car can be a lot like eating healthy and exercising, you know it’s important, but finding the time and the commitment to do it can be difficult. Whether you are skilled at maintaining your car on your own or you need to have some help from a mechanic, taking care of your car can be one of the most important things you can do to avoid a New Haven auto accident. A well-maintained car can keep you out of situations where you may get injured or experience some property damage.

Car maintenance is something that needs to be done regularly, even daily in some cases. Depending on the age of your car, you may need to keep any eye on the well-being of your vehicle from day to day to make sure you are not driving a vehicle that could be a safety hazard. Even newer cars need maintenance as well so it is important that whatever the age of your vehicle, you make a concerted effort to take good care of it before you take it out on the road.

Many of the things that you need to do to maintain your vehicle can be simply done by finding a tutorial video on YouTube so you can save yourself some money. Even if you are not mechanically inclined you can take some time to learn a few things about your vehicle and perform the maintenance yourself so you can save some money and stay on top of your vehicle. If you do some research and still feel like you cannot perform these tasks on your own then you should find a mechanic that you trust who you can check in with regularly to keep your vehicle up to par.

There are three easy, but critically important parts of your vehicle that you need to make sure are performing at a high level in order to stay safe on the road; your tires, your brakes and your lights. If you are focused on these three pieces of equipment on your vehicle you will be putting yourself in a good situation to stay safe and not allow any mechanical failures to affect your ability to avoid an accident. Here are some things you should be on the lookout for in these three areas.

1.) Your tires. You will want to pay attention to two key pieces to make sure your tires are going to perform well on the road. The first is the tread that is on your tires. You should be making sure that the tread is at the recommended level for your brand of tire. If you have tires that are worn and not gripping the road properly you will be putting yourself at risk of getting into an accident. The other part of your tire that you should pay attention to is the inflation of the tire. Is your tire properly inflated? Tires can be under inflated and over inflated and either one can be bad for your safety. You will want to make sure that you are filling your tires to the recommended pounds per square inch (PSI) from the manufacturer. If your tires are not properly inflated you may be putting yourself at risk.

2.) Brakes. It cannot be overstated how important it is to maintain your brakes regularly. Since you generally don’t see the brakes from outside of the car it can be hard to remember that they need to be checked on periodically, but they do. It is important that you make sure that the brake pads and rotors are not worn down and that when they do become worn down they get replaced. While you may not be able to replace them yourself you can certainly inspect them yourself and then report back to a mechanic if you recognize that they may need attention.

3.) Lights. Of course you have lights on the front and back of your vehicle. You should be regularly checking to make sure that they are operating properly (you may need a partner to help you with this) and that they are cleaned off. Cleaning off your headlights and taillights can be especially important coming off of a winter driving season. You should make sure that your headlights, tail lights, turn signals and brake lights are all functioning properly before you head out on the road. If they are not, you may be able to change out the bulb to fix them and you likely could do this with the aid of a YouTube tutorial. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this, don’t put it off, get a mechanic to take care of it for your right away.

Putting the maintenance of your vehicle off can put you in an unsafe position. Tires that are not properly inflated and do not have the proper amount of treads can lead to a New Haven auto accident, as can brakes that are not functioning well or lights that are not visible. If you want to remain safe and avoid an accident you should be focused on the maintenance of your vehicle regularly so you do not get into a situation where your equipment in your vehicle is getting in the way of you driving safely.

Accidents do happen and when they do you may need to speak with an attorney who has experience with similar situations. Contact our office and one of our experienced attorneys will review your situation and work with you to protect your long-term interests.