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Do not panic! The first step to successfully driving with a blown tire is to realize you can survive the situation and drive your car to safety. The second step is to maneuver your car to a safe location. A calm and clear head will ensure you and your car survive without becoming a traffic statistic. Remember the following tips:

1. Recognizing the problem is often more difficult than most drivers realize. A loud unusual sound followed by the car losing stability is often a sign a tire has blown. Often drivers do not hear anything unusual because of the radio or other interior car noise. Additionally, when traveling at a high rate of speed, the car may not immediately drive any differently. If you begin to experience difficulty controlling your car, or the car is no long driving smoothly, your tire may have blown. Decreasing the noise in the car and listening for unusual sounds will help confirm a problem exists.

2. Do not slam on the breaks! Abruptly breaking your vehicle is likely to cause an accident. Turn on your hazard lights. This notifies other drivers you are experiencing difficulty. Freeway drivers should begin to move gradually toward the nearest exit or to the side of the road. Do not make sharp turns nor attempt to cut into traffic. Work your way onto an exit or the side of the freeway. Tap your breaks to reduce your speed and slowly come to a complete stop. You can drive on a tire rim, though it will destroy the rim. While no driver wants to replace their entire rim, it is comforting to know that the car can still be operated with a blown tire. The key is to slowly operate your car, so slowly reduce your speed and move to a save location.

3. Surface street drivers should immediately pull over to the side of the road and turn on their hazard lights. If possible, pull off the road entirely and into the parking lot of the nearest commercial establishment.

4. Once the car is in a safe spot, check your tires. If a blow out has occurred, search the trunk for your spare. The car instruction manual should have instructions on how to replace a tire. A call for help is a good idea if you do not have a spare or are not confident in your ability to change a tire.

A spare tire will safely get the car to the nearest service station. In extreme emergencies it is possible to drive the car with a blown tire to the nearest service station but this is not recommended, especially in bad weather. If you continue to drive with a blown tire do so slowly with your hazard lights blinking.

The cause of most blow outs is low air pressure in the tires. Checking your tire pressure on a regular basis will help prevent most tire blow outs from ever occurring. If one does occur, just keep a calm head, take it slow, and head for safety. Do not forget those hazard lights!

Learn more about this author, Kelly Moser.
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