Have you ever noticed pieces of rubber on the side of the road that look like tire remnants? If so, you’ve probably wondered what those pieces are and where they came from. In most cases, fragments of rubber on the side of the road or road that appear to be parts of the tire, and they are! And all because car wheels have an unpleasant habit of exploding. Most often this happens to trucks, but drivers of cars can also encounter it.
Why do car tires explode?
There really isn’t any universal reason why a car tire explodes. There is a whole bunch of different causes. Only when several of these articulate a car tire can a negative outcome await. There are four main causes, but as noted above – it is the combination of several factors that is necessary for a tire to explode.
Condition of the material. First of all, the wheel tire must be in bad condition. It makes no difference whether it’s a factory defect or a high degree of wear on the material as a result of long or improper use. Tires with weak sidewalls that have developed scuffs, hernias, and other defects are more likely to blow up. A badly worn tread also becomes a source of danger.
Performance failure. Each tire has a set of performance characteristics. Violation of the parameters stipulated by the manufacturer is fraught with tragic consequences. First of all, we should mention such moments as the maximum pressure in a tire, the load on the wheel, the maximum permissible speed. Violation of operating parameters leads to bursting loads during driving.
Overheating. In 8.5 out of 10 cases, the exploded car tire was in a state of overheating. The wheels of your favorite “swallow” can overheat for a variety of reasons. However, most often it is the result of emergency braking, prolonged driving on a wheel not well inflated with air and if the motorist forgot to take the car off the handbrake… Intensive friction of a wheel against the brake pads leads to fast and very strong heating of the tire.
Leakage. It would be more correct to say a very, very sudden depressurization at high speed. In most cases, a puncture in the tire will result in a bleed. However, too rapid loss of air at high speed can be one of the causes of an explosion. Additionally, the situation can become more complicated if the flat tire was hot and/or hit a pothole in the road while driving.
What to do if your car’s tire exploded while you were driving?
If your car’s tire blew or even exploded, this is an extreme situation. Keeping control of the car in such a situation, especially when driving at high speed, will not be easy. To get out of the situation safely, you need to carefully monitor the road and firmly hold the wheel with both hands, be prepared for the fact that it will pull out of his hands! After that you should smoothly take your foot off the gas pedal and never touch the brake pedal. The observance of these three points considerably raises the probability of the safe outcome for all traffic participants.
More experienced and confident drivers, especially those who have already faced with all sorts of skidding, may try to do two more things. If you feel that the car began to turn to one side, try to twist the wheel in the opposite direction. Also try to shift into a lower gear, if possible. Pull off to the side of the road only when you are fully confident that you have control of the car. Oh, and most importantly, never panic. It certainly won’t help matters.