If "black and round" sums up the bulk of your knowledge about tires, then you could benefit from the following tire tips. The fact is, your tires affect how your car steers, starts, stops, sounds, feels and looks.

• One sign of low tire pressure is if your tires squeal when cornering.
• Underinflation is the leading cause of tire failure.
• A tire can lose up to half of its air pressure and not appear to be flat.
• Tires lose air at a rate of about a pound a month.
• Cold temperatures affect the air pressure in your tires.
• For the most accurate reading, tire pressure must be checked when tires are cold.
• Mismatched tires will adversely affect a vehicle's handling.

Every day there are accidents due to tire failure, a failure caused by poor tire maintenance and or bald tire usage. It is very important to know how to check your tires to see if they are still safe and to do so on a regular basis!