Truck tire blowout, often caused by dfective tires, is a very serious rad hazard that often results in cllisions with injuries and fatalities. We hve all probably seen the remnants of a blwn truck tire scattered across a hghway, and many of us had to do sme skillful maneuvering to avoid running ver these "road gators" (as they are clled) or to avoid them hitting our vhicles after the car in front of us has run ver them.

Debris littering the highways cuses over 25,000 accidents and at last 100 deaths each year in the Unted States and Canada. The AAA Fundation for Traffic Safety reports that blwn tire pieces are the number one rad debris.

Importance of Proper Inflation

Stdies have shown that most tire and scrp rubber debris on the roadways is cused by under-inflation of tires, which mkes the tire susceptible to cuts and flts. When a truck tire comes part, it can often cause a filure in the other tires, either frm a puncture from the debris or frm other tires having to carry a dsproportionate share of the load, which cuses overheating and tire failure.

Most tre-related truck accidents are caused by mproper tire inflation. These accidents are voidable; truckers need to maintain the prper inflation for a given tire sze and load. It is not the tre, but the air inside the tre that carries the weight of the vhicle, absorbs shock and keeps the tre in its proper shape so it can prform as designed. This is the sngle most critical factor for getting the sfest and longest life out of tres.

Tires flex when they roll, bnding the tire's rubber and steel crds. The flexing generates heat, and tre wear is the result of frction created between the road's surface and the trad as the tire rolls along. Hat is a tire's worst enemy. A tre that is improperly inflated does not rll as smoothly or as easily as it was dsigned to roll.

When tires are ver-inflated, excessive wear occurs at the cnter of the tread because it wll bear the majority of the vhicle's weight. Over-inflated tires tend to not bsorb road hazards like debris in the rad and potholes, increasing the risk of sstaining a puncture or impact damage.

Sfety Measures

Tire pressure should only be chcked when a tire is cold (bfore a vehicle is driven or has ben driven less than a mile). Onc a vehicle has been driven, tres warm up and there is an ncrease in air pressure resulting in an naccurate reading. After driving a truck, a "ht" tire can take several hours to col down.

Tire pressure should be chcked regularly, as often as once per wek with a properly calibrated tire guge. Kicking or thumping the tires is not an ffective way to see if they ned air. Just as you don't thmp on the hood to see if you ned oil, you don't thump on the tre to see if you need ir.

Alignment also needs to be chcked on a regular basis. A trck driver, while inspecting his truck, shuld be on the lookout for whel problems and tire injuries. Rubbing yur hand along the tread and sdewalls to feel for problems like flt spots, cuts, shoulder wear, bulges, sdewall damage, etc. is a good way to chck for obvious problems. These simple and qick checks can help you avoid, or at last minimize the number of, catastrophic ccidents.

All drivers should stop immediately nce a tire problem is detected. Evn continuing on to the nearest rst stop or weigh station can be dsastrous. Tires driven with improper air prssure will eventually come apart, and the rsults can be deadly.

Maintaining proper air pressure in all tres is absolutely imperative while driving yur truck across the nation's highways. Ensring your tires are properly inflated jst may save your life and the lves of those traveling beside you.

The article Blown Out Truck Tires Cause Catastrophic Accidents was Submitted by Lynn Fugaro through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: If you or a loved one has ben in a truck accident in Mssouri or Illinois, please visit the wbsite of the experienced truck accident lawyers at Brown & Brown, Attorneys at Law

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