There’s a slight difference in feel depending on which tyre
bursts. If it’s any of the front tyres that burst, you will immediately feel
the steering wobble and pull hard to one side, which is the side of the burst
tyre. If it’s the rear tyre that bursts, the car will sway suddenly, violently
shuddering.
In both these situations, especially at high speeds the best
thing you can do is to AVOID BRAKING. In fact, in some cases, expert
drivers recommend pressing the accelerator slightly to compensate for the
sudden braking effect of a burst tyre (the sudden loss of pressure acts as if
the brake has been slammed on that wheel alone and it tries to pull the vehicle
sideways).
The most important thing is to maintain steering control, by
holding on tightly to the steering wheel and gently steering the vehicle in the
opposite direction from which it’s pulling to maintain control. Only after
you’ve got full steering control, should you gently slow down, first by
decelerating and then gently braking once you are at slow speeds.
A front tyre burst is more likely to cause loss of steering
control, and you need to fight with the wheel to regain control. A rear wheel
blowout will tend to drag the car to one side from the rear, but is generally
easier to control than a front wheel blow out.
If you are driving a vehicle with a high centre of gravity
like an SUV or a van, be sure to get absolute steering control before even
considering braking as they can tip over quite easily, due to the high sideways
force created.
Pull over to the side of the road slowly – drive a little on
the rim if needed till you are safely out of harms way on the highway, put on
your hazard lights and then assess the situation.
Checking your tyre pressure regularly is the safest way to
prevent a tyre blow out. Once a week inspect the condition of your tyres to
make sure there are no sidewall cracks, bulges or bald spots that could be
trouble areas in a high speed run. When you drive at high speeds especially on
concrete highways, the heat built up in the tyre increases its pressure and any
weak spot on the tyre is a potential blowout point.
Take breaks every 2 hours or so to let the tyres cool –
don’t drive at high speed for too long. Maintain the correct tyre pressure.
Under-inflating a tyre causes the tyre to flex more, and that weakens the side
walls while building up heat. Over inflating a tyre causes the pressure to
build up faster due to heat. Keep the optimum recommended pressure.
Tubeless tyres are less prone to tyre blow outs because they
run cooler than tube type tyres. In a tube type tyre there is some friction
between the tube and the tyre wall which causes heat build up faster. Tube type
tyres also lose air instantly in cases of a nail puncturing it, while tubeless
tyres lose air gradually as the nail acts as a plug temporarily. Switch to
tubeless tyres if you don't already have them.
by Roshun
Povaiah
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