Each year, there are nearly 70 million vehicle breakdowns and 220 million flat tires in the United States. Car troubles can be quite frustrating—and sometimes rather expensive—and many drivers find themselves rather helpless when issues occur when they’re out on the roads. In fact, only 30 percent of NatNews readers who participated in an online poll indicated that they know how to change a flat tire.
Phoenix resident Arin Mearig is not very familiar with the tire-changing process and said she would likely call her mom or dad for help if she found herself in such circumstances.
“I’m pretty sure you have to use that thing to jack the car up and then use a tool to take it off,” she said. “Wait, maybe you have to spin those things off first. I don’t know.”
She’s on the right-ish track. If she lived in DFW, she could reach out to Dallas-area resident Bill Smith, who considers himself highly car-savvy. He said whenever he purchases a new car, he always looks for the placement of the jack and spare tire and takes note of whether the car has specific points to place the jack under the car to change it. He said he believes knowing how to get oneself out of a flat-tire situation is certainly valuable knowledge to have.
“Everyone who learns to drive should learn to change a tire in their driveway,” he said. “It is an easy skill to learn and could save lots of money and time.”
Dallas resident Damon Yousefy said he knows how to change a flat tire but also invests in run-flat tires, which allow drivers to continue on the roads for a short time after getting a flat so that they can make it to a safe place to stop or to a specific place for repair.
“[With run-flat tires], I can drive up to 50 miles at up to 50 miles per hour to a tire shop so that I’m not stuck trying to change a tire in rain or the Texas heat,” he said. “For me, it’s worth the slightly higher price to have the run-flat tires.”
There are also more serious car breakdowns that involve much more mechanical knowledge than changing a tire and can’t necessarily be repaired by oneself on the side of the road. While Smith said he would like to think he would know what to do in those situations, he said it would also depend on the reason for the breakdown. Sometimes the best thing to do is to call experts who can assist.
“NTTA roads here in Texas have a roadside assist number (#999) you can contact during a breakdown,” he said. “It’s also a good practice to have local non-emergency police numbers stored in your phone for times like these.”
Like Smith, Dallas resident Juliette Vielhauer—who learned how to change a tire from her dad, as he wanted to make sure that she knew where all of the tools were when she first got her Jeep—said she would be able to handle the car issue herself in some cases but would call roadside assistance when it was necessary.
“I believe being a responsible car owner involves regular servicing and having contingency plans if stranded,” she said. “While extensive car knowledge isn’t always necessary, being prepared with basic skills or having roadside assistance is crucial.”
Mearig is on the same page as Vielhauer in that viewpoint, though she said certain aspects of car maintenance information is something she wishes had been part of her required educational curriculum.
“I think it’s very important to have general knowledge so that if you’re stuck without a way of contacting someone, you can get yourself out of it,” she said. “I think it should be taught in high school.”
But it’s only mandatory to learn how to drive, not about the machine you’re operating, if you’re going to get behind a wheel. Mearig said she thinks this is one reason why many drivers don’t know car basics, such as changing a tire.
“We were never taught and didn’t take the responsibility ourselves for learning how to do things,” she said. “Also, in America, we have a hundred auto shops at the tip of our fingers to just take the car to when something happens.”
Smith also believes that having general car knowledge is important for those in the driver’s seat, especially in light of the fact that they are operating machines at high speeds surrounded by others who are often careless and reckless on the roads.
“Knowing the general workings of the tools we use is a good practice to keep ourselves and those around us safe,” he said. “Not finding yourself stranded on a highway because you can change your own tire is worth the investment to learn.”
Yousefy said he knew the basics of dealing with car issues when he drove a Honda in college, but he owns a Mercedes now, which he said is a much more complicated car to fix. If his car broke down, he said he would contact roadside assistance through his insurance to help. Regardless of whether a person can handle the issues on his or her own or reaches out to experts, Yousefy said being prepared is essential.
“Having roadside assistance through insurance or AAA is important, as is basic knowledge, so that the repair center doesn’t take advantage of you,” he said. “I think cars have gotten a lot more complex, and people have gotten more used to convenience instead of DIY.”
For Vielhauer, she said she is grateful that she learned everything she knows about cars from her dad, who raced off-road vehicles and was always consistently working on a project car or two when his kids were growing up.
“He taught me to drive off-road as soon as I could reach the pedals and emphasized understanding the consequences of my actions behind the wheel,” she said. “From helping him work on his cars to modifying my own Jeep under his guidance, he instilled in me the importance of preparation, like carrying water and a sleeping bag for long trips. Without his guidance, I’d likely rely heavily on AAA.”
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