The car culture of Los Angeles and all the driving it brings helps to shorten tire life. Just the L.A. freeway system alone handles over twelve million cars on a daily basis, leading to a daily average migration of over 300 million miles. The city has not only one of the largest high-speed road networks in the world, but also the highest per-capita car population in the world. More than 26 million cars clog the greater L.A. area, with roughly 1.8 cars per household.
Doing the math, this equates to a formula that reveals there are more cars in California than people in any of the other states in the Union. Looking at the math another way, there are around 104 tires in Los Angeles alone (four times 26 million). Adding in uncounted motorcycles ups the tire total even more. Not to mention a lot of cars have more than four tires, but I’ve yet to see any with three. That’s a lot of Los Angeles tires to dispose of!
To avoid that day of disposal, or at least postpone it, a good idea is to keep a tire gage at hand and to make sure your tires are inflated to proper levels. The PSI number (or pounds per square inch) can be found on the sidewall of your tires, on a sticker usually on the inside of the driver’s door, or in the manual that came with your vehicle. If the tire says 44 PSI, that’s the maximum it should be inflated to according to the tire maker. The sticker on the door or manual will give you the number the manufacturer of the car recommends. Be on the lookout, for they won’t always match.
Driving in high heat doesn’t take long to tear up a tire. Hot roads and hot air expand the air inside your tire, heating up the side walls. That will start deteriorating the inner lining of the tire, causing a dirt-like substance that will eat the rubber up. Checking for cracks along the side of the wall of the tire is something to do to determine whether it’s time for some new ones.
Eventually it will be time to replace and dispose of your tires. What happens to them then?
In the old days, people used to bring their tires to junk yards and sell them. Less savory types would throw them in a pond or ditch. Now, less drastic measures are used.
Today, when you buy a new tire, the store takes your old one and recycles it. That rubber is ground up and used in a variety of applications. Synthetic turf fields are created for playing football and soccer. If you’ve been to a modern playground lately you might have noticed the soft, spongy surface the kids play on. The surface is made from used rubber! Gardening mulch is another product.
As more people go green solutions are discovered to take care of refuse. California is leading the way in this effort. One hundred years from now, who knows what they’ll think of next?
