Advertisement

If your Fourth of July plans take you out of L.A., don’t leave Tuesday afternoon. But do check your tires

Underinflated tires can create problems for road trippers. Here’s how to ensure your safety.

Share

Timing is everything, especially when it comes to figuring out when to leave Los Angeles —and when not to — for your Fourth of July holiday, according to INRIX, a company that analyzes traffic patterns.

Traffic, the great mocker of motorists, will be at its worst Tuesday afternoon, the day before the holiday, INRIX said. If you leave then, you’ll spend twice as long getting away as you ordinarily would.

INRIX crowned Los Angeles as the king of traffic in 2016 and 2017. Motorists spend 102 hours in traffic in our area, worse than any other metro city it surveyed. Moscow was second, and New York City was third.

Advertisement

Given that, it’s amazing it isn’t the worst offender for anticipated Fourth of July snarl time. You could spend 2.3 times more time getting out of New York City, 2.1 getting out of Washington, D.C.

That’s what happens when 40 million people travel on a holiday, the number of road-trippers expected this Fourth, AAA predicts.

Plus, in your haste to get out of town, don’t forget to check your tires. Overinflating causes undue wear and tear, but underinflating is more dangerous; it can lead to tire failure.

Check out the video above to learn how to inflate those tires properly so the only fireworks you see on the Fourth are overhead, not on the road.

travel@latimes.com

@latimestravel

Advertisement
Advertisement