Tire Failure and Tire Blowouts

Tire Failure and Blowouts:
Tire defects, such as tread separation that causes a blowout, will severely limit the control a driver has over the vehicle.

When a radial tire suddenly loses its tread, the driver often loses control of the vehicle. A blowout of the tire, or rapid pressure decrease in the remaining core, is often associated with a loss of tire tread and drastically increases a vehicle’s chance to roll over. When the rear tire of a vehicle suffers a blowout, controlling the vehicle becomes very difficult, especially at highway speeds. This loss of control results in the rear of the vehicle swinging around to become perpendicular to the direction of travel (yawing). If the yawing is not immediately reversed in direction, then the sideways motion often leads to the bead of the tire separating from the rim, allowing the rim to dig into the pavement or surface of the road. As the rim digs into the pavement it propels the vehicle into a roll. Rollovers may also occur if the vehicle comes into contact with grass, dirt or other drastic surface changes while in sideways motion. Grass or dirt will actually ‘trip’ the vehicle and launch it into a rollover. ‘Tripping’ of the vehicle occurs when there is a sufficient amount of sideways movement while the vehicle moves into a grass or dirt median from normal pavement.

Tire manufacturers have known that a leading cause of tread separation is due to the design and placement of the belts and overlying tread. Tread and belt separations can also occur from poor adhesion of the tire components. Poor adhesion results from the use of old and expired adhesives, improper temperatures and unclean manufacturing facilities used in the manufacturing process. Poor adhesion may also be the result of contaminants introduced during manufacturing such as rust, moisture, oxidation, grease, sawdust, gum wrappers and even cigarette butts.

Of all the known problems resulting in tire tread and belt separation, the leading cause of belt separation is failure of the metal tire components to stick to the rubber. The method most often used to bond these elements involves plating the metal with brass and then applying a rubber compound containing sulfur. If the sulfur and other compounds are not to the correct mixture, then incomplete adhesion occurs. If the brass plating is allowed to oxidize, poor adhesion will likely occur. If there is a shiny brass look to the belts, then most likely there was a deficiency in the tread bonding process, which could also be compounded by other defects.

Tire Construction Diagram:
Some tire manufacturers choose to cut costs and do not include the nylon overlay component as shown in the illustration above. Firestone ATX tires are one example of tires that do not include this important stabilization feature.

Tire Defects - Serious Accident and Injury Legal Help

If you or a loved one have been seriously injured, or a loved one has been killed, as the result of a tire defect, tire failure, tread separation, tire blowout, rollover accident, or any other serious injury accident, then please call us to discuss your legal rights to a potential product liability lawsuit. Please fill out our online form by following the link below or call us right now: Toll Free 1-800-883-9858.

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