How to Avoid the Risk of Tire Blowout Accidents

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Car Accidents

With summer just around the corner, many of us will be hitting the road - visiting relatives, theme parks, the beaches, the mountains - making family vacation memories to last a lifetime. It is important when embarking on a road trip to make sure that your vehicle is mechanically sound. It is also critical for safety that the tires on the vehicle you and your family are traveling in are not at risk of a tire blowout accident.

How many times have you seen tire tread scattered all over the road because some unfortunate driver had his or her tire explode? According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there are 11,000 vehicle accidents every year which are caused by bad tires. Most of these blowouts are avoidable if the correct precautions are taken.

Most vehicle safety advocates recommend checking your tires at least once a month to make sure there are no signs of impending problems. Issues that you should be checking for include:

• Any bubbles, bulges, or cracks in the sidewall of the tire: This could indicate that the tire has begun the dry rot process, also called sidewall cracking. Another indication of dry rot is if the color of the tire fades from black to a dull gray.
• Wearing away of the tread of the tire: One way to test the tread is the penny test. Take a penny and insert it into the tread, with Lincoln’s head pointing downward. If you can still see the top of his head, your tread is too low and you should have the tire changed immediately. Another sign of low tread is being able to see the wear bars on the tire. Wear bars are the small bridges that go across the grooves of the tire.
• If it has been six or more years since you changed the tires, the NHTSA recommends that you replace them, even if they seem fine.

Unfortunately, no matter how safety conscious we may be, not all drivers behave in the same manner and their negligence causes auto accidents in which other people are injured – or worse. If you have been injured in an accident caused by another driver, contact an experienced Lake County injury attorney to see what legal recourse you may have against the driver and his or her insurance company.