Tire Blowout: Causes and Prevention

A tire blowout can be an extremely scary and dangerous situation and can occur from many reasons, including impact damage, overloading, big cuts leading to quick air loss, and improper air pressure. Keep reading to learn more about tire blowouts and how to keep yourself and others safe on the road.

What Happens When a Tire Blows Out?

When a tire blows out, panic can ensue and the vehicle starts to slow down. When front tires blow out, your car is likely to pull you to either the left or right side as the steering wheel vibrates. When the rear tires blow out, there is a difference in how the car behaves. In this regard, when your rear tires blow out, you are most likely to feel the speed of your car fluctuating unsteadily while producing a wobbling sound.

What Should You Do When Your Tire Blows Out?

It is interesting that tire blowouts require you to act in a counter-intuitive manner. As much as your instincts may tell you to brake and veer off the road, it is important to stay calm and do the opposite. You need to keep control of your vehicle by continuing to accelerate in the same direction that you were heading. There might be need for you to accelerate more to conciliate for the drag that is pulling your car as a result of a blowout. Also, adjust your steering so that your car continues to be in position. After keeping control of your car, you can begin to slowly press on the brake. After slowing down your car, pull over to the roadside. It is preferable that you pull over with the blown tire facing away from the highway for safety purposes. In a situation where this is not possible, pull over where it is safe to do so. After pulling over off the road, turn on your hazards to notify other road users that you are experiencing a sudden unforeseen crisis. You can change the tire yourself if you know how to do it safely. Otherwise you can invite us on your next blowout for assistance by the roadside.

Dangers of a Tire Blowout

Blowouts are dangerous because they affect the handling of your car. Inability to handle your car can lead to collisions, rollovers and auto accidents. When a blowout occurs, you will not have perfect control of your car and this makes it dangerous when driving at a low speed and even more serious when driving at a high speed.

Prevention

Tire blowouts are preventable and knowing the common causes can help you avoid them. Some of the ways of preventing a blowout from happening include not surpassing the weight limit of your tires, driving safely, regular maintenance of your vehicle, and checking treads and the pressure of your tires. To learn more about the causes of tire blowouts and how to prevent them, or for more information about our tire services, contact us today!