Side effects of a middle-class upbringing 2

One of the traits that a middle class upbringing sows in us is the need to utilize everything we have to the fullest.

Interestingly, even as our incomes have grown, the manifestation of this trait has in some cases become more acute.

I remember when I was a school kid in Mumbai, my father used to change the tyres on his Premier President (Fiat 1100D) before they ran truly bald. You see, back then, there was a market for partially used tyres. If I remember correctly, Taxi drivers used second hand or re-treaded tyres and the tyre dealer would buy back our old tyres if there was some tread left in them.

These days, we get no resale value for used tyres and as a result, it makes us want to use our tyres till they are truly bald.

This makes for an interesting situation. I have a friend in Pune who is rather well off and does not really have to worry about expenses.
Yet, I noticed when we met for coffee the other day that his tyres were seriously worn out. You could barely see the grooves in the tread pattern. I joked that it might be time to change his tyres and he said, "Oh there's probably another 5000 km left in them."

Clearly, he had never heard of the Tread Wear Indicator or TWI on his tyres, and that is the topic for the next post.