First Blow Out!

Driving west on I90 near Moses Lake WA a few days ago, I experienced a tire blow out. It was the first time I have dealt with such an event. It was not as startling as I always imagined it would be but I was at attention immediately!

The reason I am sharing this is to remind drivers of the suddenness with which a tire failure can occur. I was behind the wheel of a tandem axle straight truck, cruise at 60MPH heading to Yakima and enjoying the sunshine while listening to tunes over the radio. With zero warning or the slightest indication that anything was amiss, there was an explosion, a cloud of smoke and dust, the sounds of something hitting the truck behind my seat and debris flying by window. Instantly, I had a death grip on the wheel then the realization that a tire exploded as I see the entire tread (in one piece for the most part) bounce and roll into the lane next to me in my driver side view mirror all the while realizing that it was not a steer tire failure, I was not having to fight to control the truck.

I got on the brakes and off of the shoulder to the right as far as possible. After coming to a stop and flipping the hazards on I took survey of the debris on the road behind me, how traffic was reacting, if there was any other vehicle involved. At this point I was thanking God! I, others, fortune had it that there were no other vehicles affected, most particularly I was grateful that there was not a motorcyclist beside/behind me, for they very likely would have been killed. I just happened to be in a gap between groups of traffic when the failure occurred.

I got out of the truck when it was safe, taking my phone with me. I walked down into the roadside ditch to notify dispatch and informed them that I would do a quick assessment to see if I could safely get off the interstate and check more thoroughly for damage. Quick check and I am off at the next exit about 3/4 mile away.

Safely off the road I do thorough inspection and find no other damage, air lines, brake cans, air bags, lights, other tires, drive lines, are all in good order. I decide to carry on.

The tire that failed was on the tag axle.

The point of my rambling is a reminder of just how fast this happens, and had I not had both hands on the wheel and it was a steer tire that failed instead, the results would very likely have been dramatically and possibly tragically different.

Be safe.