Tire blowouts in many road situations are extremely dangerous. If one happens while cornering or braking, the car can go out of control. Thanks to improvements in tire manufacturing, tire blowouts from manufacturing defects are rare. Nevertheless, they still happen and sometimes with tragic consequences. They are the result of oversights and mistakes anyone of us can make. Avoid these three mistakes and the potential accidents and auto insurance claims they may cause:
Driving on Under Inflated Tires
All tires lose air. For example, a tire in good shape simply has a very slow leakage rate compared to one with a nail in it. No matter the condition of your tires, their air pressure requires regular monitoring. If your tires are new, their pressure can still drop faster than normal if you run over a small nail. While the nail may plug the hole, your tire can become under inflated over the course of a few
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Once the damage is done, a blowout is always a possibility even after you've re-inflated the tire. Summer is known as the tire blowout season because weakened tires can't bear up to the extreme temperatures of sun heated pavement.
Driving on Tires with Bulges
If your tire's sidewall has an unusual bulge, immediately replace the tire because it's a blowout waiting to happen. The bulge is the result of air pressing against a weakened area of the sidewall. Most bulges are caused by damage sustained while driving. Hitting a curb, going over bumpy railroad tracks at high-speed, and hitting potholes or lumber are some of the ways this can happen.
Because the bulge is on the sidewall, you won't feel it while driving. Detecting sidewall bulges requires careful viewing of your tires. On the other hand, when the tread portion bulges, you will feel it.
As a general rule, when your tires hit or run over something, inspect them. Sometimes the damage will look like a
I can tell you right now these aren't going to hold a patch. They're shot through." (page 40). Mattie was exceptionally nice to Taylor and told her to come inside and have some coffee. After drinking a cup of coffee and giving Turtle some juice, Mattie came up with the idea that Taylor could work for her. Taylor, being the one who doesn't like tires in the first place, accepted the generous offer, but went almost nuts with the huge tire wall that surrounded her.
From both foreign countries and the United States, complaints state that the tires lose their casings when traveling at high speeds. The tire maker claimed it knew nothing of the tread problems until late July, yet consumers have warned the company since the mid 1990’s (Nathan). It also stated that the complaints it finally received did not raise any “red flags” because in relative terms, few tires had failed; less than one in every 10,000 of the 47 million ATX, ATX II, and Wilderness AT tires produced since 1991 have failed (Nathan). Most of the recalled tires came from the Decatur, Illinois plant, the main concentration of the investigation. The company claimed that a workers’ strike at that plant in the nineties, when replacement workers made the product, caused most of the problems.
they are not really round. There is a flat spot on the bottom where the tire meets the road. This flat spot is called the contact patch. This helps the tire have more space on the ground so that the square inch area touching the ground is higher. By doing this, You don't need as much pressure in the tire. Tires usually only need 30 pounds per square inch. You can figure out how much four tires can hold by adding the square inches touching the ground and multiplying it by four (all tires). Then you must add in the area pressure of all the tires. You find this by finding the area of the tire in square inches and multiplying that by 30.
In August 2000, there was a recall of Bridgestone/Firestone tires. The company recalled its 15 inch ATX and ATX II tires, plus 15 inch Wilderness AT tires. The recall involved more than six million tires. A federal investigation found at least 88 deaths and more than 300 accidents involving Bridgestone/Firestone tires that had shredded on the highway. The majority of the accidents held the same situation of the driver maintaining a speed of 65 miles per hour, the tires shredded and the rubber peeled away from the rim. Most of the tire failures involved Ford Explorer sport utility vehicles. These accidents occurred after tire treads peeled off, causing tires to burst and malfunction then drivers lost control of their vehicles which resulted in crashes and turnovers. The tires involved are made up of many different materials layered around an inner shell. The outermost layer is the tread, which covers two layers of steel cords. This tire recall was the second largest in history; it also raised a significant social responsibility and ethical issues for both Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone companies. Firestone's last major tire recall nearly bankrupted the company in 1978, and led to its acquisition by Japanese-based Bridgestone. As with the recall announced, it involved abnormally high tread separation, resulting in accidents and deaths. Most of the tires involved in the recall were produced at Firestone's Decatur, Illinois plant. Poor quality was named as one of the main causes of the failures, and many proposals were advanced to strengthen and update regulatory procedures.
With PAX, Michelin tried an approach quite different from other run-flat tires. Firstly, unlike other run-flat tyres, the PAX had to be incorporated into cars, which meant that car manufacturers had to be brought on board with the innovation. The cars which carried the PAX had a combination air valve / pressure detector which reported pressure loss to an indicator on the dash so that the driver knew that there was a problem (Ofria, 2005) . This made these cars safer. In addition, this type of tyre was designed with extra-strong sidewalls to help support the vehicle if the air escaped. With PAX, Michelin used a supportive ring made of polyurethane inside the tire. Michelin said the ring meant the sidewalls did not have to be so stiff, preserving ride comfort, this meant that if the tyre went flat, the vehicle would still be safe to drive for 125 miles(at approximately 180km) at speeds up to 55 m.p.h.(at approximately
Accidents can happen at any given time. You could be one of the best drivers there are and still get in to a car accident due to other reckless drivers. So here are some helpful tips on how to avoid getting into car accidents that injure yourself and
Ford and Firestone knew that they were having problems with their products before all of these accidents happened. For instance “Ford internal documents show the company engineers recommended changes to the vehicle design after it rolled over in company tests prior to introduction.”(www.ratical.org/corporation) Moreover, “In 1998, mounting insurance claims already had indicated to financial staff members at Firestone that a problem existed with the tires.” (www.ombuds.org.) But Ford and Firestone did not take any action to fix the problem. So it was obvious then that they were not concerned for the well being of the people. Even staff members who knew that the safety of customers was in danger due to the defect of these tires, failed to report it to the authorities. And when Firestone was confronted with accusations about the performance of the tire, they provided misleading information. Therefore, this represented a very critical ethical problem. According to an executive director of auto safety, “if consumers never find out about this problem, these companies will end up saving millions of dollars in recall costs at the expense...
try to make tires as safe as possible. This is a positive spin on the
Ronald, you make a valuable point that Ofra Sherman’s actions may have been hasty as a result of her professional immaturity when approaching Costas Euripides with the information that was told to her by Shraga Braverman. While, I do concur that Sherman should have been a little more professionally savvy and should have avoided restating the exact conversation between her and Braverman I do dissent with your opinion for her to wait and let it play out. My subjective opinion is that speaking with Costas regarding her concerns, was acceptable because he was her direct report and gave her direction on a day to day bases concerning her job prior to the acquisition. It is completely natural that Sherman was confused by all the different voices
Your vehicle careens to the right or left when you brake Unusual noises or vibrations occur when you hit the brakes Many brake pads these days have a built-in metal component that creates a slight squeal. The squeal becomes louder just as you hit the brakes. If you begin to hear a loud squealing noise, make sure to bring your vehicle to your local RockRepair for a full inspection and possible repairs assessment.
There is nothing worse than being stuck on the side of the highway with a flat tire and not knowing how to change it. Flat tires can happen anywhere at anytime, and being stranded can make a person feel helpless. Knowing how to change a tire is a necessary skill that all drivers should learn. It saves time on waiting for an emergency roadside help, as well as avoiding costs for people that do not have the benefits of the free assistance. Sure, there are some individuals that may prefer to have a professional change their tire, but there may come a time when circumstances will require it to be done by oneself.
Knowing how to drive a car myself, I can’t expect an accident to occur. It just happens without your knowledge and sometimes without your fault too. It’s better to take precautions just in case such a thing happens. This will surely help you financially for the repairs of the vehicle.
A vehicle jack can put you in danger. Its improper use led to thousands of injuries and deaths each year in the US. You need to become attentive and cautious when doing car maintenance and tire changes. Your safety on the road depends on the tools, and tires that you use.
One of the most important part of any car is the tires. Tires are in constant contact with the road, and like the Goodyear commercial says, “So much is riding on your tires.”
All the information about your tires can be found on the sidewall or your vehicle's user manual. A typical tire label will look like this: P195/60R16 63H M+S. The P195/60R16 refers to the tires size measurements including diameter, width, and aspect ratio. The H refers to the tire's speed rating, while M+S means the tire is suitable for all-season driving. 63 stands for the loading of the tire. Always ensure that you buy the same Sze measurements as your old tires, but you can exceed the load and speed