One of the more dreaded sounds for a drive to hear is the noise made by a tire blowout. A defect or severely worn area on your tire gives way and allows all of the air to instantly be released. Grip the steering wheel tightly. The aim is to control the vehicle at first. Try not to over steer the car. Do not immediately press on the brake. Remove you foot from the accelerator.

Let the car coast for a bit to make sure that you have control. If it is a front tire, you will feel a strong pull in the direction of the flat. On a rear wheel, controlling the car's wobbling can be difficult. Check for the traffic flow in all directions around the vehicle. You do not want to steer your car into other vehicles if at all possible.

Once you have control of the car, apply a very light touch to your brake. If the car feels stable, brake slightly more to slow the car enough to leave the highway. If applying the brake causes a loss of control, let the car coast to a slower speed. On an interstate, moving to the shoulder is not usually too tough. Once on the shoulder, slow the car on to a stop and turn on the emergency flashers. Pull as far from the traffic lanes as is safely possible.

On two lane road without a shoulder, if a side road or driveway is visible, coast or drive slowly to it and exit the road. If nothing is visible, pull as far to the roadside as possible. Turn on the emergency flashers. Be careful here to guard against soft or muddy shoulders. These can create more problems when changing the tire and returning to the road surface. In either event, look very carefully before exiting your vehicle.

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