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by Ray Fauteux

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A sudden tire blowout can be a frightening thing even for the most seasoned driver. I had a tire blowout several years ago. I was driving a large car and cruised easily on the highway at speeds around 115 km. per hour.

I was in the process of passing another car when my rear passenger tire exploded, so I was actually going faster then 115 km. at the time.

The tire really did explode. It was not a slow leak but a true blowout that was caused by a couple of factors. As the tire dealership explained to me, the tire had become under inflated and the air inside became super heated and eventually the tire exploded from the stress. Had I been driving in the city it most likely would never have happened, but because I was traveling at a high rate of speed the stress on the tire was too great. It was the high speed that caused the over heating. There was a large hole in the tire and the edges of the hole were all shredded.

There are several things to be aware of if you have a high speed tire blowout.

THE TRAFFIC AROUND YOU:

I have heard it said that a good driver should be looking in his rear view mirror every 8-10 seconds. It is a great habit to get into, because instinctively, you will always be aware of your escape routes should something unexpected happen. It is much to late to start looking around once a dangerous situation unfolds. In my particular case, I was in the highway passing lane and had just accelerated to pass a slower vehicle. I also noticed another vehicle enter the passing lane behind me to pass the same slower vehicle. Just as I signaled to go back into the driving lane, my tire exploded. Fortunately I knew exactly where the traffic was around me.

YOUR FIRST REACTION:

Instinctively, the first reaction might be to slam on the brakes. It would be very wise to restrain yourself from this course of action. Steering slightly in the opposite direction that the car wants to veer will help keep the car under control. That would be the time to start applying firm steady pressure on the brakes as you make your way to safety on the side of the road. By slamming on the brakes right away you could actually accentuate the initial reaction of the vehicle and lose control completely. Much will depend on the speed you are initially traveling. Most likely it will be quite fast because serious instantaneous blowouts often happen at higher speeds.

ROAD CONDITIONS:

Much will also depend on the condition of the road surface at the moment of the blowout. Snowy or icy surfaces will most likely make the reaction of your vehicle much more unpredictable. Rain slicked roads will also cause added problems, because the surface of the tire will be separated from the road by a thin layer of water. In other words you will most likely be hydroplaning if you are traveling at a high rate of speed at the time of the tire failure. This could also cause unpredictable and dangerous vehicle reactions that you should be aware of.

WHAT TO DO:

First of all, there is a good chance the drivers of the vehicles around you have no idea what is going on at the instant a blowout occurs. It all depends on how your car reacts and how attentive the other drivers happen to be. If you are not in the driving lane closest to the shoulder of the road, let your car drift over toward that shoulder if it is safe to do so. You can signal, honk your horn, or activate your brake lights by pumping the brake pedal lightly. Do not turn on your emergency flashers until you have changed lanes. All these will serve as warnings to any cars behind you that something is amiss. Your first priority is to get away from the lane nearest the oncoming traffic. You do not want your car swerving in that direction.

If you have a standard transmission you can gear down as the vehicle begins to lose speed. If you have an automatic you can go from drive into second gear. All these will serve to slow your vehicle down and you have "not" slammed on the brakes to achieve this.

If you feel your car is seriously out of control, your best option if all else fails is to head for the ditch if you can't maintain enough control to bring the vehicle to a halt on the shoulder of the road in a save manner. At all costs, you want to avoid any sort of collision with other vehicles. You may damage your car by steering it off the road and into the ditch, but cars can be easily fixed.

In my case I was fortunate enough to resist slamming on the brakes and was able to bring the car to a halt safely on the wide shoulder of the road without any contact with other vehicles or damage to my car.(other than the tire)

Every situation is different. You could be on a 2 lane highway, a divided highway, or a freeway with 6 lanes going in each direction. There might be a wide shoulder or a narrow shoulder. When driving on "any" highway, the safest place to be is the lane closest to the shoulder or edge of the road if it happens to be one of the few instances where there is no shoulder. No matter how many lanes of traffic there are, that is the lane you should try and stay in unless you are passing someone.

Ultimately the key to a safe outcome in the event of a blowout is being aware at all times of what is happening with the traffic flow around you and doing most of your highway driving in the lane closest to the shoulder of the road.

Being aware of the other traffic will help you avoid them in case of a blowout and being in the proper lane will always provide you with an escape route.

Learn more about this author, Ray Fauteux.

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