BUTLER TOWNSHIP — With more than one and a half million Ohioans expected to travel beyond 50 miles away from their home this Memorial Day weekend, officials provided tips to help make the vacation as headache-free as possible.
News Center 7 Reporter Xavier Hershovitz reported live from Butler Township with some advice from AAA and experts about what to pack during the trip for those just-in-case moments.
The first advice was to check your wipers. Oftentimes, people neglected them, which made driving conditions dangerous when they were caught in an unexpected downpour with low visibility, Terry Toner, the owner of Kettering-Oakwood Automotive, said.
The second advice was to check all your fluids—both oil and anti-freeze. It was important to not just rely on the oil light as there might not be enough fluid for an entire weekend trip.
Finally, it was advised to check tires for tire pressure and tread. When adding air into the tires, it was important to not put too much to prevent a mishap.
“We see a lot of people where they’re put 60 to 70 pounds of air in a tire. The tire will be worn real bad or they’ll just blow the tire out,” Toner said. “We had one in here yesterday. They put 80 pounds of air in their tires because they thought that’s what the tire called for and literally blew the whole side of her tire out.”
All these checks were also important for motorcycles as well.
A rule of thumb was: if you’re in doubt, have a mechanic check it out.