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Nailed by the road? Patch hole and roll

If you find yourself driving through a neighborhood with construction going on (How can you avoid it around here?), watch out.

Construction is tough on tires.

Motorists in Meadow Pointe, Trinity and Oakstead routinely share the road with construction crews who sometimes accidentally drop sharp objects in the road.

We're talking debris, carpenters' nails, Sheetrock screws, all sorts of nasty, sharp, pointy things that will flatten tires in no time.

How common is it?

Gary Frase, assistant manager at the Kauffman Tire Center in New Tampa, says he gets 10 or 12 customers a day with nails and such in their tires. The majority, he says, have been driving in a neighborhood where construction is going on.

"You have to expect it, with as much construction going on in this area," Mr. Frase said. "You get carpenters with nails scattered in the back of their truck. They come spilling out when they turn. That's a lot of nails in the road."

That means a lot of tire repair. In most cases, customers don't need new tires. A simple patch will do.

We at the Drivers' Side are not in the habit of promoting one business or another, but we think it is only fair to point out that Mr. Frase does tire repairs for free. For free? Yes. For free.

It's getting nasty out there.

A couple of readers recently lamented that motorists have forgotten how to be polite. We're not talking about road rage or anything involving firearms and 911 calls. Just a lack of common decency.

Reader Ron DeVal thinks motorists are a little too quick about rude finger displays. He wrote: "All you have to do is look at another driver these days, and the ominous digit comes flying up faster than toast from a toaster." (That toaster image is pretty good. Memo to self: Shamelessly steal that phrase for use in a future column.)

The Drivers' Side witnessed an incident recently where some litter was dropped out of a sport utility vehicle at a red light. A nearby motorist honked to express disapproval. The SUV then dumped more trash. Another beep on the horn. More trash. Clearly the repeated littering was a response to the horn honking - the garbage equivalent of a hand gesture. Nice. Real nice.

What to do? Mr. DeVal suggested a Driver Courtesy Month. Not a bad idea. But a month might be a lot to ask. How about a Driver Courtesy Day? Okay, how about a Driver Courtesy Moment? You pick the moment. Make it soon.

- Want to vent about traffic problems? Drivers' Side welcomes commuters' rants, comments and suggestions. Send e-mail to hegarty@sptimes.com or leave a phone message at 813 909-4610.