Michelin Tires

[Joe Cannarozzi]

I have had blow-outs on steer axle tires on loaded semis, with and without power steering.

If you are paying attention and even without power steering it does not take excessive effort to control the vehical and get it to the shoulder. I once rolled over something with an old KW without power steering at highway speed and the explosion was so violent it literally blew apart the right front fiberglass fender from the hood and the truck held the lane and I simply slowed down and over.

IMO if a steer tire blowout puts the vehical off the road the responsibility lies with the driver.

Pardon me for being cynical about crash investigation conclusions.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Ditto what Joe said.

When Ford had the tire blowout fiasco years back and everybody was suing everybody, especially Firestone and Ford, one of the car magazines did an article on what happens when a vehicle has a blowout and how to control the vehicle. This article was brought about because the media portrayed the issue as if everyone that gets a blowout spins and rolls out of control killing everybody.

They did the blowouts at various speeds. Intitially they could not get the tiires to lose air fast enough to duplicate a blowout and sudden loss of air pressure so they rigged something up to make the air pressure drop to zero instantaneously. I don't remember how they did it, but they ended up doing that because all the tests prior to the modification were non-events. Nothing violent happened and the drivers never lose control.

So when they did the simulated blowouts the results were the same. The driver steered to maintain control and did nothing more than to allow the vehicle to slow down. It was concluded that if control of the vehicle was lost following a blowout it would have to have been because the driver did something such as letting go of the steering wheel or did something ill advised like jerking the steering wheel or slamming on the brakes.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

I put that out there not so much to to disagree with anything but rather to try to inform folks and to maybe put some fears to rest about steer blowouts.

The sound of the explosion and being startled is the worst of it.

[Ray Davis]

So, I assume besides holding the wheel firmly, you should NOT apply excessive force to the breaks, and try to slow down gradually?

Ray

[garyde]

On the Michelin Tire website there is a video explaining what to do in a front end tire blow out. Its worth watching.
I have had several blowouts on RV's , one being on the front end while traveling in LA at 65 MPH. You should not use your brake, but instead maintain steady throttle, not accelerate, and move to the side as soon as safety allows.
If you brake , it is actually harder to steer. If you maintain throttle the vehicle maintains its path of travel and allows you to steer .
http://www.michelinrvtires.com/miche...Critial_Factor

[Ray Davis]

Wow, thanks for posting that Gary. I would have never thought to first hit the accellerator when experiencing a blowout. Makes sense, but it's not one of those intuitive things.

Ray

[Darl-Wilson]

Joe and Jon, I am sure you are not suggesting we be careless about our tires because a catastrophic loss of air is no big deal. I too have had a few blowouts and I'm still here. Two of them were right steer tires, on two different trucks. One was a Freightliner COE and the other was a Mack conventional. Both were on Rice hill on I-5 in Oregon. I never left the pavement on either.

I knew how to handle the vehicle. Some people don't. I am not picking on Ray but who would have believed that he has owned several large RVs and didn't know not to touch the brakes when experiencing a blowout. (This is another plus for getting a Class B license)

Gary, thanks for posting the Michelin video. You may have saved Ray's bacon. I'll bet there are several other folks here that appreciate that link too.

My point in posting the accident in Texas was a reminder to take care of the tires. It now seems that the steer tires had been regroved (legal but not for steer tires) and separated causing the accident. It looks like the driver hit a low concrete guardrail then rolled over it onto the right side. It could very well have been that the driver hit the brakes causing the vehicle to veer to the right into the concrete abutment.

The point here is that we never know when we will have an emergency of any kind. If we were in the same location as this bus driver with no emergency lane, traveling at 65 mph, just inches from the abutment would we have avoided the same fate? Checking and rechecking all of our equipment just makes sense. I never flew my airplane, even around the pattern, without a thorough pre-flight. I do the same on my Prevost. I pay special attention to my tires because the accident that never happens is the only one I want to have.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I think you know me better than that Darl. I think a well maintained coach and careful pretrip inspections are vital and I don't think an owner should even drive the coach until he knows and understands the systems.

It is my opinion that some folks on this site need to attend a seminar put on by folks that really know and understand how to drive and how to do a pre-trip inspection and how to react to emergencies. I know you and Joe and Brian E would all be excellent instructors for that.

I would love to see a complete seminar on safe driving, including some graphic demonstrations on stopping distances, tire pressure checking (wanna bet a lot at our rallies are too low?) precision driving, and applicable safety checks.

[Darl-Wilson]

I think you know me better than that Darl. I think a well maintained coach and careful pretrip inspections are vital and I don't think an owner should even drive the coach until he knows and understands the systems.

Yes, I do know you well Jon and didn't mean to suggest that you would encourage taking short-cuts where safety is a concern.

I think you are on to something about having a discussion about safety and proper driving habits? I would be honored to volunteer to help in that endeavor.
It's about time I contribute something! Now all we need to do is get Brian E. and Joe on board. How about it guys?

Darl

[Joe Cannarozzi]

I would like to see a demonstration in "drifting", in a 45er