What a new tire looks like inside

Opinion
Barry Artiste, Now Public Contributor
Dr. David Suzuki's small steps in helping the environment has many great options for the public to follow in helping the environment, small steps we can all do painlessly.

Though one of his small steps programs "Retreading your Tires" instead of buying new makes a mountain of sense.  Unfortunately, Consumers will have little choice  of Tire retread manufacturers when we exchange our old worn out tires for new retreads at local depots.  Chinese manufacturered retread tires will be the Norm for Canadians, and with China's continued  track
 record in Quality Assurance, do you really want to entrust your families life on Chinese made Retreads?

Retreads normally done on big transport truck tires because of the prohibitive cost of new truck tires.
How many of us have travelled along the highway and noticed shredded tires along the side of the road?
That my friend is a retread. 

Retreads are strips of rubber with a moulded tread glued in place over a worn tire.  A Retread is only as safe as the glue that holds it in place and last half as long as a new tire and their speed rating is undetermined versus a new tire.

Check you insurance policy as well, you may be in for a big surprise if you are involved in an accident from a defective blown tire caused by retread failure. Insurance companies may walk away as you may be on the hook to pay the other parties damages or if you are the victim, you may be out of luck as well if the other party has no means to pay your damages. China normally don't give refunds or pay for personal damages caused by defective workmanship as many cases in the media attest, everything from lead toys to poison pet food.

No Thanks Dave, I'll stick to new tires and look for other ways to do my part for the environment. For some crazy reason, my families safety is more important than a thin strip of glued rubber.

[q url="http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=dad1e8b4-f266-4d18-b953-c57e9e086a8a"]Small StepsDavid Suzuki,
Special to the SunPublished: Monday, March 03, 2008

When you're next in the market for new tires for your automobile, consider the more environmentally -- and less costly -- option of retreaded tires. These recycled tires are not the same as used tires. Retreaded tires reduce the amount of rubber shipped to the landfill, use significantly less oil in production and are less costly for consumers.

For more information: http://www.retread.org/

David Suzuki's Small Steps appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. /q]