Just a warning for the faint-hearted: this post is going to discuss animal death, so if you’re sensitive to that you might want to skip it.
I recently drove from Melbourne up to Canberra, and I have to say that I was quite disturbed by the amount of roadkill on the Hume Highway. There were various carcasses with alarming frequency, and once or twice I had to swerve to avoid running over them. It made me think about the poor animals, and upon reflection I’ve realised that if people were able to stop faster, there might not be quite as much roadkill.
TPMS prevents tyre wear, and that can prevent roadkill
A common danger on long drives, like those between cities in Australia, is that your tyres can wear down quite badly if they’re not properly inflated. You see, improperly inflated tyres drag against the road surface, which means they wear out much faster. And if they’re underinflated throughout all of an 8+ hour trip at high speeds, your tyres are definitely going to feel that. One of the many reasons that tyre wear is bad is that tyres that are worn down can’t grip the road as well, which means your handling is poorer and your vehicle takes longer to reach a halt. So if you want to be able to brake quickly and avoid hitting wildlife, it’s imperative to keep your tyres in good condition.
By equipping your vehicle with tyre sensors, you’ll be alerted whenever your tyres’ pressure levels are outside of the recommended range. That enables you to pull over and take action as soon as possible, rather than continuing to drive for hours, days, or even weeks in ignorance of your tyres. If you’re doing a lot of cross-country driving, you’re especially at risk of increased tyre wear, so a tyre pressure monitoring system is all the more important.
TPMS is essential for truckers
One particular demographic that tends to do a lot of cross-country driving are truckers. Trucks also have more momentum because of their mass, which means they take longer to stop when they brake and they can do more damage to wildlife. Fortunately, Safety Dave offers truck tyre pressure monitors so that truckers can keep themselves and the various fauna that sometimes cross our highways safe.