Hot weather driving — Utah Permit Test

In very hot weather a driver should check tire mounting and air pressure and inspect the tires every two hours or every 100 miles.

Heat raises tire pressure and finds every weakness in a casing. A blowout at speed is what this check prevents.

TIRES—check the tire mounting and air pressure. Inspect the tires every two hours or every 100 miles.

Air pressure rises with temperature, so a driver should not let air out of hot tires, because the pressure will be too low once they cool.

Bleeding a hot tire leaves it flat by evening, and an underinflated tire is what overheats and fails next.

Air pressure increases with the temperature. Do not let the air out; the pressure will be too low when the tires cool off.

Engine oil helps keep the engine cool, so a driver should make sure there is enough of it in hot weather.

Oil carries heat away as well as lubricating. Low oil in desert heat is how an engine seizes.

ENGINE OIL—the engine oil helps keep the engine cool.

A driver whose coolant temperature gauge goes above the highest safe mark should stop driving as soon as safely possible to find out what is wrong.

Past that mark something is already failing, and continuing turns a repair into a fire.

Stop driving as soon as safely possible to find out what is wrong.

Tar in the road pavement frequently rises to the surface in hot weather, and the spots where it bleeds through can be slippery.

It looks like a dark patch of ordinary road and grips like polished glass in the heat.

WATCH FOR BLEEDING TAR—tar in the road pavement frequently rises to the surface in hot weather.

How often should tires be inspected in very hot Utah weather?

Every two hours or 100 miles. Heat raises tire pressure and finds every weakness in a casing. A blowout at speed is what this check prevents. Utah Driver Handbook 2026-2027, p.62: “TIRES—check the tire mounting and air pressure. Inspect the tires every two hours or every 100 miles.”