Steer clear of bad bumps! Protect the casings
Orange and brown sheet: a speeding truck tyre hits a rock outcrop beneath 'Steer clear of bad bumps!', with a white panel 'Tires must be conserved' addressed to the soldier. The tell is a mild fear-appeal of scarcity: wreck the casing and 'you will ride less and walk more'.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1943
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- U.S. Army Save Conservation Program (Army Conservation Project No. 46-0-4)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- Military
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Own forces
- Purpose
- Warn or inform
- Themes
- War and the military, Economy and finance, Science and technology
- Event
- World War II
- Regime
- Roosevelt administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Posters, retrieved October 4, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
U.S. Army. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-1807 (NAID 515486).
Text on the object
STEER CLEAR OF BAD BUMPS! TIRES MUST BE CONSERVED That's no joke, soldier. The tire shortage, serious for more than a year, is now critical. It's real—so real that even the Army, accustomed to getting everything it needs, must learn to get along with fewer tires in 1944 than it had in 1943. It's an OFFICIAL fact that few, IF ANY, new tires will be available for Army trucks anywhere in the United States. Proper care of tires must offset this reduction, and will, if you do your part. Otherwise, you will ride less and walk more! Protect the Casings OBSERVE ALL MAINTENANCE RULES See TM 31-200 KEEP SPEED AND PRESSURE WHERE THEY BELONG U.S. ARMY SAVE CONSERVATION PROGRAM [imprint: ARMY CONSERVATION PROJECT NO. 46-0-4] [imprint: U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1943—O-562019]
