What Every Motorist Should Know About Big Rig Tire Blowouts

We all know that speeding can lead to serious crashes, especially when a large commercial truck is involved. Unfortunately, many truck drivers speed and travel above 75 miles per hour, which is often the maximum speed their tires can handle. As a result, truck crashes have occurred due to tire blowouts and failure. While many in the trucking industry are pointing their fingers at the tire industry, an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reveals the real problem to be truck drivers exceeding tire speed ratings.

The reason tire blowouts occur when traveling at higher speeds than what they are designed for is that heat can build up and cause them to fail, especially when driven for long periods of time. This is often the case with trucks because truck drivers drive for hundreds of miles a day.

While under inflation, heavy loads, road debris and other factors come into play with tire failure, speed plays a huge part in tire blowouts. This is why truck drivers need to know what their tires are capable of and not exceeding the speed the tires are designed to handle.

Because tire blowouts on big rigs can create dangerous situations for other motorists traveling near large trucks, it is important that truck drivers don’t speed. This is why NHTSA would like to cap big rig speeds to put an end to this tire problem, and the safety chief is pushing to pass regulation that would do just this by requiring trucks to have electronic speed limiters.

Until that time when all large trucks have speed limiters, innocent motorists are in danger of traveling next to drivers of big rigs who speed for the following reasons:

• Flying tire tread chunks. When large tires blow, the tread chunks can be quite large and dangerous for those traveling next to or behind a semi. Motorcyclists are especially vulnerable to injuries that occur from tire tread chunks, as they can even be knocked off their bikes as a result of flying tread. Also, other motorists will often swerve to avoid running over a large tire, which can cause them to crash.
• Truck loses control. When a truck is traveling at high speeds and has a tire blowout, the truck can suddenly swerve and end up in another lane. As a result, the large truck can crash into cars in the next lane. Additionally, big rigs can jackknife when they lose control and cause other cars to swerve and crash into other vehicles in order to avoid being in a crash with a large truck.

If you have suffered a crash related injury as a result of a semi’s tire blowout, you need to seek legal advice. More than likely you have a legal claim against the truck driver and trucking company, but you may have a claim against the tire manufacturer. To make sure you get all the compensation you are due, contact the Law Offices of David Benenfeld today at (954) 677-0155 for a free consultation today.