Sorry I haven’t blogged much today–I’ve been sitting in the waiting room at Pep Boys. I was there to get the state emissions test for my car. It only took two hours (ugh).
My car now has a Pennsylvania license plate. I’m kind of sad about it–when I drove with my Indiana plate and I got lost or confused, other PA drivers gave me a break. Now, they think I’m one of them.
I’ll always be a Hoosier, no matter where my car is registered.
The inspection cost $55. Oh, goody. It will last until the end of November of next year, then I have to do it again. Arg.
On the way home from that ordeal, I stopped to check my car’s tire pressure. My tires are supposed to have 35 psi. One tire looked visibly low, and when I checked it, it only had 20. Wowzers! I put some free air in it at a gas station, and all of the other tires were fine.
It is vital that you regularly check your tire pressure. Certainly before you make a long road trip, but consider doing it every few weeks. The cold winter air has a way of lowering pressure in some cases.
When your tires are properly inflated, you’ll get better gas mileage, your tires will wear more evenly, and you’ll be safer.
My brother-in-law had the misfortune of having a tire either under or over inflated (I’m not sure which). As he was driving, the tire began to unravel, and it flapped against his rear bumper and against the side of his car. Fortunately, he didn’t lose control of his car, but he easily could have gotten into a serious wreck. The flapping tire caused a lot of expensive damage.
So, there you go. No excuses not to check your tire pressure. Gauges don’t cost much, and it’s easy to do.
I know how you feel about the plates. When we moved to ohio it was sad for me to let go of my colorado plates. It all of a sudden felt so permanent. Buying a house didn’t but getting new plates on my car did. LOL
I’m glad I’m not the only one! It does feel permanent.
I still don’t feel like Pittsburgh is my home. Maybe I never will. It’s probably for the best if I just embrace it and try to make it seem more homey. Home is where the heart is, after all.
They didn’t check your air pressure during inspection?? For $55, they should have cleaned the rims with a toothbrush! :-) I’m from PA. I feel your “inspection pain”!
We had to get our car inspected, too — but before we registered it. It was a safety inspection, I think — not so much emissions (but I could be wrong).
We bought our car here, so it never had Indiana plates. But, I had to renew my license because it was about to expire, and now I’m no longer an Indiana licensed driver. :-( But my new one gets me discounts on things for being a resident of Hawaii (called kama’aina discounts), and it lasts for six years. It’s nice when people have to ask to see my ID and they don’t think I’m a tourist!