Sure, everybody’s fantasised about driving a flying car. The ability to dodge traffic, the fact that you can travel in a straight line and you’re not limited by travelling on roads or around terrain, and the sheer cool factor of it. Plus it’s been featured in all those science fiction films, from Back to the Future Part II to Blade Runner.
One of the other cool things about flying cars is that because they don’t travel on the ground, they don’t have tyres. And that means there’s no risk of tyres bursting, no danger of tyre wear, and no hazards of losing control on slippery, wet, or icy surfaces. Flying cars don’t aquaplane (although seaplanes can fly!)
Unfortunately, we don’t have flying cars yet, but a TPMS helps you deal with tyre troubles
See, since we’re driving ordinary terrestrial vehicles, with earth-bound tyres and wheels, we have to account for everything that entails. Technically speaking, we’re still driving on air – it’s just that the air is inside our tyres. And we have to pay close attention to that air, because it’s what’s supporting us as we roll along.
If your tyres aren’t properly inflated, then they wear out faster, which means that they will take longer to stop after braking and have poorer handling. This can be a serious hazard, and can lead to crashes and other accidents. Incorrectly inflated tyres are also more expensive, because they have poorer fuel efficiency and need to be replaced more regularly. Finally, if your tyres aren’t at the appropriate pressure levels, they can have reduced traction and increased risk of blowouts. Too low pressure and they sag so that the treads aren’t defined enough to grip the road. Too high pressure and you have the opposite problem – they’re not elastic enough to absorb impact.
Normally, you have to do the tedious work of checking your tyre pressure by hand to ensure that your tyres are at a pressure level that is within the appropriate range. This is boring work, and half the time it turns out that everything’s fine and you didn’t need to do it in the first place. Worse, if there is a problem, you want to take action right away, because the longer you’re driving with incorrectly inflated tyres, the more your tyres will suffer.
With a tyre pressure monitoring system, all the hassle disappears. Automatic tyre sensors measure the pressure level in each of your tyres, and alert you so that you can take action as soon as you need to. You might not be flying, but it’s an important technological advance that will help keep you safe.