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We all hope and pray that we never experience a tire blowout while driving at high speeds! But what do you do when you hear a loud explosion, and your car suddenly veers off course?
Read on to inflate your knowledge about what can cause a tire blowout; how to react if it does happen, and the steps you can take to avoid it.
The chances of a tire blowout are virtually zero if your tires never touch the ground. But besides having a flying car how do you achieve this? Nationwide Auto Transport can ship your car affordably, safely… and with no chance of a high speed incident
The Tire Blowout Guide
According to statistics, the average driver will have five flat tires in their lifetime. Hopefully, you have a flat tire slowly cruising suburbia, or even better, you notice one before you leave. Nevertheless, it is possible that it could occur on major highways when you’re driving at higher speeds. This guide tells you exactly what to do in case of a tire blowout.
How to Recognize a Tire Blowout
Let’s start with the basics and discuss what a tire blowout is? A burst tire, also called a catastrophic tire failure, happens when there is a sudden loss of air pressure in the tire. There are a number of reasons this could happen, but we look at those bit further down in this article.
The sound and sensations when a tire blows out are very distinctive. A loud explosion-like bang-pop is followed by the vehicle suddenly becoming unresponsive and more difficult to handle. This can be very frightening and dangerous. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 9% of traffic accidents are caused by faulty tires. This won’t happen if you are well prepared to cope with the situation. When you are ready to upgrade your rims, or do some other modifications to your car, read the Cheapest State for Vehicle Modifications: is the One Where you Find the Best Deal.
Tire Blowouts: Why Do They Happen?
A tire blowout can happen for a variety of reasons, some more controllable and preventable than others. By keeping tabs on the following items that affect the round rubber orbs that your vehicle drives on, you can minimize the risk of your one of your tires failing:
- Underinflation is not only dangerous, but having too little air pressure also wreaks havoc on your fuel budget, and shortens the tires lifespan.
- Overloading combined with incorrectly inflated tires is a blowout waiting to happen.
- Low tread on worn out tires is a higher risk factor for bursts.
- Slow leaks in the tire make it more likely for it to lose air and blow out.
Is there a “season” for blowouts? Indeed there actually is and its between May and September, with good reason, and as before some you will be able to look after a bit more than others:
- Heat and rubber don’t always mix – You can’t change the seasons (but you can get a quote from Nationwide Auto Transportation and save up to 20%)
- Distance = Wear = Danger. During summer vacations and road trips, people are on the road for longer periods of time and the more time your tires go round and round, the more likely they are to go Boom!
- Potholes and other road hazards can’t be fixed by you, however you can remain alert and do your best to avoid them. Summertime is usually when drivers flock to the roads, but it is also when the most road construction happens, so take extra care.
What do I do When I Have a Tire Blowout?
It’s a beautiful day as you cruise at 69 mph down Highway 1… in an instant and with a bang, all Hell breaks loose as you have a right front tire blowout. The next few seconds, and what you do during them, can mean life or death for you, your passengers and other road users around you.
- Stay calm and don’t panic – try to avoid any jerky reactions..
- Grip the steering wheel like you were taught in driving school. 10 and 2 right? This is your best grip to keep your car in a straight line, adjust as you feel your car pulling in another direction and try to keep the car straight as you remain in control.
- Braking is taboo and even when everything screams at you to slam your foot down on the brake pedal…don’t! A slight bump on the gas pedal should straighten you out, then take your foot off the gas and let the car coast naturally to a stop.
- Pull over – For everyone’s safety, but mostly your own, it is always best to try and pull over as far away from traffic, and as soon as you safely can.
- Be visible. Make sure the hazard lights are on and the parking brake is engaged. This way other motorists can see that you are experiencing trouble.
What do I do After a Blowout
You have safely stopped your car on the side of the road…now what? Just breathe, relax and stay calm. The calmness you exhibit will benefit you as well as your passengers.
After taking a deep breath, evaluate the situation but make sure you are safe before leaving your vehicle and calling for assistance. If you need to be picked up or a tire changed, call a tow truck, roadside assistance, or a friend. On the other hand you can do this by yourself if it is safe and you are up to it.
Before you put on the spare tire, make sure things are cool enough to touch, and then drive slowly, using your hazard lights to indicate your intentional slow pace as many spare tires are only for short distances and slow speeds. Have your tire replaced as soon as possible and always do your best to find out the cause of your tire blowout.
If traffic gets you down and you want to avoid it at all cost, here are the Worst Traffic Cities in America: Your 2021 Update
How to Prevent Future Blowouts
As I have shown above, there are quite a few factors that you can control to prevent a tire blowout, and the first is basic car care and maintenance. The equation is pretty simple and can be implemented throughout your life. Take care of something, and it will take care of you:
- Check the tire pressure and do it often and get to know your car and what makes it tick – this puts you in control and your maintenance can be more proactive – its much easier to add some air than to fix a blown tire.
- You shouldn’t drive on worn tires. Examine the tread while you’re checking the pressure.
- Overloading should be avoided where possible. Adjust your tire pressure to suit the weight that you are carrying.
- Adding roadside assistance gives you some peace of mind when you are driving, and you will be assisted in the event a tire blowout happens.
- Make sure your spare tire is always 100% ready to take over in case of tire trouble.
Nationwide Auto Transportation – Your Tire Blowout Savior
Although Nationwide Auto Transportation is a car transport company, we like to think of ourselves as a little more than just that – we are people who care about people and their safety. We have so many vehicle and transport topics for you to read while on our blog, it might just take up half your holiday – use our online calculator to get a quote or call our customer service representatives at 800-311-7073 for assistance.
