Automotive insight should stretch beyond knowing how to start an engine, select a radio station and line the shifter up with the “D” on a console or steering column.
St. Joseph’s Academy, an all-girls Catholic high school in Baton Rouge, offers a course that includes a lesson on auto maintenance basics. The course is called adult responsibility.
If high school students are becoming acquainted with the simple and essential duties that come with having a vehicle before most of them can even vote, college drivers should certainly know some of the tricks too.
I believe most college students know how to manage social media — the number of times students check Facebook daily is extraordinary. In contrast, I will wager that the number of students checking their engine’s oil and other fluids throughout a week is minimal.
By the amount of cars in University parking lots, I know a large number of students also own automobiles, but some might have no clue about how to service it.
Car and Driver magazine lists six things all drivers should know how to do. Firstly, a driver should know how to change a tire. Next, drivers should know how to use jumper cables. From there is knowledge of how to check oil and tire pressure, as well as how to get unstuck. Last, but not least, is how to spot cops.
In the words of late country music singer Jerry Reed, “If you’re one of the millions who own one of them gas drinking, piston clanking, air polluting, smoke belching four-wheeled buggies from Detroit City, then pay attention.”
Changing a tire is fairly easy, but it is dangerous if not done properly. A vehicle owners’ manual adresses proper techniques and methods on how to go about the job. Some dealerships will even give a quick tire lesson to patrons who ask for one.
The same goes for air pressure in a tire. Service stations will usually check your tires and fill them to the proper pounds per square inch free of charge as a courtesy service. The correct PSI for a type of tire is printed on the outside of the tire, along with its size and other specifications. If you do not own a tire pressure gauge, an auto parts store will have one and they are typically inexpensive.
When checking your oil, you’ll need to raise the hood. You don’t want your engine to be running or still hot. There will be a dipstick that rests in a tube running to the bottom of your engine. These are typically labeled and stamped with an oil icon. Remove the dipstick and wipe the oil off of it. Insert the stick back into the tube fully and pull it out. You’ll see a horizontal line across the stick
toward the bottom. This indicates your oil level. If it is below the proper line, add oil until it reaches the line.
You don’t have to be as mechanically savvy as a Duke boy from Hazzard County to understand the basics. All the information and methods to do these things are probably in your vehicle’s manual. If not, there’s a vlog on the Reveille website for you. I’d also be more than happy to teach you if you’re a hands-on kind of learner. I work for tips though.
Being uninformed on the basics of automotive care is a safety hazard and could leave you paying a hefty amount of money to a mechanic. I would hate for a student to be stranded on the side of a dark highway because of a busted tire. They could actually have the tools to repair it but not the slightest idea how.
Owning a vehicle is an adult responsibility. Part of that responsibility applies to driving, like using turn signals and checking mirrors. The other important part comes into play before a driver even gets behind the wheel. A person can’t practice safe driving if what they’re driving isn’t safe.
Justin Stafford is a 21-year-old mass communication junior from
Walker, La.