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There are a great many car these days that park with 2 wheels on the pavement, what damage does this do to tyres and steering joints, etc. I wouldn't think it does them much good as the wheels have to be driven over the high kerbs especially with the increase in the use of alloy wheels. Has anyone had any experience with this either with their own car or anyone from the garage/tyre business.
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I have actually a parking driver mount a kerb fast enough to blow the tyre out completely. He was lucky, the frightening thought was if he had not quite done enough damage to rupture the casing, and then set of on a long motorway drive with wife, kids, luggage etc.
The number of drivers you can see daily abusing their tyres in such a fashion is increadable. I wonder how many blow-out accidents that are put down to bad luck are really down to driver negligence?
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I heard, second hand from an impecable source, of a yoof car with a ridiculous set of alloys - wafer thin strip of rubber and little thin spokes one of which shattered when driving abruptly from a curb. Seems plausible.
First hand, had to get a new tyre due to a bulge on the tread which the fitter reckoned was due to a bit of poor parking leaving the tyre stressed overnight which irreparably deformed the carcass. Again seems plausible. In the olden days when tyres were tyres and not so high tech they seemed more durable. Progress I suppose.
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Yep - agree with you Ash.
You wouldn't believe the trouble we get with bulged tyres down here.
Telling the customer (who I can tell doesn't beleive me) that this bulge on their 3 week old tyre is NOT a manufacturing defect but is caused by an impact can be very difficult and time consuming!
I see many people turning in the road/parking in a tight spot and mounting the kerb at a fair speed to complete the turn/park - this can (and does) cause damage the carcass of the tyre - who knows when it may give out?
David
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Please can someone write an e-mail to me for the column about this. I'll then state the case (yet again) and hope it helps people like David who have to deal with kerb crunchers complaining that their cars are pulling to the left.
HJ
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What about when there's no alternative to mounting the kerb? I live in an area where it's necessary to park half on/half off the kerb to allow traffic past, and although it is only a small kerb (3-4 inches) it can't do the car any good...
Is there any way I can minimise the damage/impact apart from taking it slowly?
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I would have thought taking the bump as straight on as possible would be best, ie at a tight lock, rather than scrunching on sideways.
I would just point out that it is an offence to drive or park on the pavement, although we all have to do it sometimes.
Cliff Pope
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If you have to mount the kerb, do it slowly and square on, ie with the front of the tyre not the side of the tyre as the latter will cause the sidewall to scrape and clamber up the kerb and could tear it or cause other damage. Not so easy for the rear wheels without reversing in though.
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How about a wooden ramp to put in the gutter whilst mounting the kerb, that you then put in your garden/ lounge/bedroom or whatever.
When my father first had a car in the 1950s we had a pair of ramps to get it off the road into the front garden as the council would not drop the kerb.
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