The old cliché always pops up when we talk about tyres, in that we often ignore the four things that connect us to the road. Many of us forget to check our tyres, don't inflate them to the right pressure and the results of this can be catastrophic.
But what will the future bring? Amid all the talk of future car technology, what will happen to the humble tyre? "The main change will be towards run flat tyres," according to Jack Farrell, chief executive of the Irish Tyre Industry Association. "Within 10 years we would see a significant increase in the use of this type of tyre which allows the driver to get home safely without the need to change a wheel."
Marketing manager for Bridgestone Tyres, Colm Conyngham agrees: "We certainly don't see a move away from tyres that use air and rubber, but we would expect to see 100 per cent use of run-flat technology within 20 years as these tyres save weight, are more durable and tougher and therefore more resilient to punctures."
Currently run-flat tyres occupy a mere one per cent of the tyre market, but this is changing, with manufacturers such as BMW, Lexus and Volkswagen adopting the technology as it improves. Just recently, BMW revealed that they would have run-flat Bridgestones on the new X5.
A run-flat tyre is a pneumatic tyre that more often than not works by using stiffer side-walls that can support the weight of the vehicle for a time, even in the event of a total loss of air.
But what if there was no need for air at all? In 2005, manufacturer Michelin demonstrated a tyre that uses no air and therefore cannot burst or go flat. The "Tweel" (a mix of tyre and wheel) uses polyurethane spokes to support an outer rim.
These flexible spokes are fused with a flexible wheel that deforms to absorb shock and rebound easily. These tyres could be tweaked both in vertical stiffness (affecting ride and comfort) and lateral stiffness (affecting handling and cornering) and this could bring improvements over conventional tyres over time.
Meanwhile, one upstart American tyre manufacturer - Amerityre - is developing a tyre made entirely from polyurethane. Without the use of rubber, there would be no tread separation, the tyre would be perfectly round - thus reducing rolling resistance and there would be less of the environmental impact associated with the disposal of rubber. If successful, this type of tyre could make a big impact.
Until then the future, it seems, will be run-flat technology. And that means no more changing a wheel at the side of the road in the pouring rain. But will it mean that in addition to ignoring our inflated tyres - something that we are already so guilty of now - we might start ignoring our flat ones too?