Why are we left out in the cold to check our tyres?

So it goes against the grain of encouragement to see where some outlets have positioned their air service slot.

Now I’m talking about some, not all outlets, though I fear that the majority could do a lot better.

Many are guilty of locating them where you get drenched if it’s raining, cold if it’s freezing and lucky if you can pull up in such a way that you can see the pressure from each of the four-wheel vantage points.

Just the other evening my front-seat passenger raised the issue and suggested I check.

As it happens, a tyre-check warning came on in the course of one of our drives back from the midlands on a frosty night, so I went to see what was wrong.

There was the air station, I braved the 3C bitter night only to find it was out of order.

We checked the best we could to see if any of the tyres were deflated or had defects. No.

And, as if by magic, the prompt went away after I refuelled with petrol.

Puzzling, I know, but it certainly heightened my awareness of how awkward it can be to see the gauge on the air hose.

My passenger described one recent engagement with checking his own tyres as being like a strong stretching/balance exercise in the gym in the dark.

No, it’s not the end of the world to have to grapple a bit with the hose but it sure can make you think twice about the effort and inconvenience involved – especially in the cold and rain.

Yet, it could be a costly decision on safety and consumption fronts.

How about a sheltered air station to protect us from the elements?

And disposable gloves like some garages have for their fuel pumps would be a nice touch.