This is part of our series on how to be an adult

1. Find a safe area to pull over Take the next exit or pull off as far away from the road as possible. Don’t park in the middle of a curve where approaching cars can’t see you. Select a level area; jacking up your car on an incline or hill can be a disaster. If you drive a manual, leave your car in gear. Don’t forget to set the emergency brake.
2. Turn on your hazards Grab the jack, wrench and spare tire from the trunk of the car and bring them over to the flat tire.
3. Loosen the lug nuts Remove the hubcap if your vehicle has one. Don’t remove the lug nuts completely, simply loosen them by turning the wrench counter-clockwise.
4. Lift your vehicle off the ground with a jack Consult your car manual for where to place the jack since it can vary for different vehicles, but make sure it’s on the metal frame of the car. Once the jack is securely in the correct spot, jack up the car until the tire is about six inches off the ground. Use caution when doing this.
5. Remove the lug nuts and pull the tire off the vehicle Be sure to keep the lug nuts piled together; then pull the tire straight toward yourself to remove it from the vehicle.
6. Put the spare on the vehicle Line up the lug nut posts with the holes in the spare, and push the spare all the way onto the wheel base until it can’t go any farther.
7. Put the lug nuts back on Don’t put them on completely, just make sure they’re on enough for the spare to stay on the car for a moment.
8. Lower the vehicle down to the ground Use the jack to bring the car back down to ground level. Carefully remove the jack from underneath the car.
9. Tighten the lug nuts With the car back on the ground, tighten the lug nuts. Start with one lug nut, tighten it about 50%, move to a nut that is across (not next to) and tighten it about the same amount. Keep tightening opposite lug nuts gradually until all are tightened.
10. Go visit a mechanic The best thing to do once you’ve changed the flat is to go see a mechanic to have them replace the tire and properly put the new one on.

*Something to remember: you should never drive more than 50-55 mph on a spare tire.