Approximately once every two weeks, someone where I work has a flat tire. There are almost two hundred vehicles in the parking lot, which adds up to about eight hundred tires. Figure that each of those tires travels between 5 and 50 miles to get there and back each day, and it’s no wonder someone picks up a nail now and then. If we’re lucky, we find our tire flat in a parking lot or our driveway and we’ve got nowhere we need to be anytime soon.

Flat tires aren’t about luck though are they? No. Most of the time, we end up with a flat tire while we’re driving down a deserted back road, or running late already. Changing a tire is something that everyone who drives a vehicle should know how to do.

Once you know how, you’ll be an unstoppable road warrior. Or maybe, you’ll just be twenty minutes late instead of an hour and half because you didn’t have to wait on roadside assistance.

NOTE: This step-by-step guide assumes you have a spare tire (with air), jack, and lug wrench in your vehicle. If you bought your vehicle used and it has aftermarket wheels on it, be sure the lug wrench you have works. You may need to buy a new one at an auto parts store. Also, it helps to have a towel or small blanket to sit on while you change the wheel. You won’t get your pants dirty, and you can wipe your hands on it when you’re done.