Rod Callahan, former car mechanic and service provider of three decades, said that the number one problem he sees on the road is neglect.
“I have seen how the basics of neglecting to check your oil can ruin an engine, the basics of not checking your tire pressure and driving on low tire pressure can cause a blow out,” Callahan said.
Callahan’s company Roadsense, specializes in car care courses that cover a variety of maintenance tips and things to be mindful of like replacing batteries, changing brake pads and checking engine oil. They also go over topics like the rights and wrongs of roadside assistance and how to change a flat tire.
Callahan told Tigard Life that the business, which he started in September of 2025, strived to teach people the importance of understanding the simplest elements of car maintenance.
“This is a good way for me to help younger drivers and the driving community be safer on the road,” Callahan said. “I’m not necessarily trying to make mechanics out of people, but I’m trying to empower them with the knowledge of when something does arise on the road, how to assess that decision.”
Callahan said that his discussions with drivers as a service provider coupled with teaching younger family members how to be cognizant of car maintenance, inspired him to start teaching courses.
“My nephew was getting ready to go to college and drive down there,” Callahan explained. “And I asked him, ‘do you have a good spare?’ and his answer was ‘what’s a spare?’”
Callahan said another source of inspiration was the lack of lessons accessible to younger people, saying teenagers learning to drive, “don’t necessarily get taught this in high school.”
“There are new drivers and younger drivers and they don’t necessarily get taught this in high school anymore, there’s autoshop, but a lot of people might not want to take autoshop,” Callahan said. “I call it ‘car care’ because it’s just basic maintenance stuff to keep your car on the road and keep it safe.”
Courses will also go over driving do and don’ts specific to the PNW, like maintaining healthy tire tread.
“Because of our weather I’m going to go over wearbars in your tires which has to do with if your tires are worn out and how important tread is and also proper tire inflation,” Callahan said. “If the roads are slippery, whether it be rain or sleet, traction is important.”
Callahan acknowledged that people could be prone to rely on the vast expanse of car advice readily available on the worldwide web, but said that he wanted to provide people “personalized” and hands-on lessons on car maintenance.
“You can look everything up today, with Google and AI, you can get whatever information you want, but my philosophy is I want to give a personalized training and know how and Q and A to make people feel comfortable about it,” Callahan said. “You can be watching a video on the side of the road about how to change your tire, but is that going to be the same?”
Callahan’s basic courses are two hours long and split into two halves each with two parts. Callahan said the first half will give an overview on roadside rudiments and the second will dive into discussions on how to jump start a vehicle and engine wear analysis.
Students will work with a car at Callahan’s property at 14010 SW 72 Ave in Tigard. Callahan said classes run 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
Basic courses are $299 and include Callahan’s “car care kit,” which comes with gloves, jumper cables, a tire inflator and more. Additional course information is available on the Roadsense website.
