Why Car Maintenance tops my list of Safe Driving Tips  When it
comes time to teach my kids vacation driving safety tips, I’ll
begin with this nugget—summer travel is great family fun until
the car breaks down, leaving you stranded in a parking lot,
baking under Florida’s July sun. Some nugget, huh? But, I
experienced it firsthand, and I’m sure you’ve had similar
situations. And given that the average age of cars on the road
today is 11.1 years, as compared to 8.4 years in 1995, according
to the Polk research firm, one of the most important tips I can
offer—especially for summer travel—is regular vehicle
maintenance.  The top offenders leading to vehicle breakdowns
are battery and cooling system failures, and possibly the most
obvious, car tire issues. Sad thing is, most of these situations
can be prevented, especially the latter. According to the Rubber
Manufacturers Association, under-inflation is the leading cause
of tire failure, and on top of that, low tire pressure can
reduce gas mileage. For tire safety