Hundreds of individual designs go into the safety package of a new passenger car or light truck. None is as important as its tires. If tires do their jobs, perhaps none of the other safety measures would be needed. Most drivers have driven free of accidents throughout their driving lives. Drivers are doing their part to ensure their own safety. But, drivers are dependent on their vehicle and their tires to operate safety. Tires may fail from a manufacturing problem or environmental degradation or user abuse or through an accident. When a tire fails at highway speed, a wild combination of forces exerted on the vehicle cause it to lose control, at times resulting in catastrophic injury or death.
Tires can fail through blowout or detread. If an object punctures the tire, the tire’s air will escape through the new hole. When the tire loses its air, the tire has a blow-out. A detread is different; when the tread separates from the tire, the air under the inner liner, plies, and belts may be largely unaffected. Additionally, the physical forces placed on a vehicle are vastly different in a detread versus a blow-out. Regardless of failure, the owner of a vehicle simply must adhere to a strict tire maintenance schedule.
Passenger cars are mostly owned by the people who drive them; while most commercial vehicles are not owned by their drivers. When you drive a vehicle for a company, you largely cannot control how often your tires get inspected, rotated, balanced, and replaced. This is usually a burden held by the company that owns the vehicle.
Tires age over time. It’s recommended that tires should not be operated after 5 years (they fail exponentially higher after 5 years). Many drivers cannot control whether their company adheres to this policy. No matter the size of the company or the budget of its vehicle maintenance program, all companies should be forced to do what is asked of them through the vehicle owners’ manual.
Larger companies tend to accumulate tires – through road failure or new inventory. The damaged tires are typically sold to a wholesaler who will resale the tires as used. But sometimes a company will overstock itself with new tires. If stored outside, the ‘new’ tire will start to die. In the Southwestern part of the United States, tires exhibit cracks throughout the exterior of a tire, eventually allowing passage to tire-killing air and moisture. Tires have a date code – no tire should be on the road 5 years after it was made.
Spare tires live a tough life on commercial vehicles. Far too many companies fail to ensure tires are rotated are a regular basis. Every vehicle manufacturer will prescribe a rotation schedule. If a vehicle has a full-size spare tire (most do), companies must ensure the spare tire rotated into service through a 5-tire rotation. If not, and the spare tire will sit idle for a few years and fail, when finally asked to operate. Tires are designed to operate; idle tires begin to die. Spare tires, given their heat in-take are particularly prone to failure without operation. Spare tires must be included in regular tire rotation.
The owner of a vehicle must regularly examine the tires’ tread and sidewall (both sides). Sidewalls should be inspected for any bumps, bubbles, or cuts. Tread should be examined for regular tread wear. Most signs of problems can be detected and addressed, hopefully through replacement. Ideally, tire inspection is performed by a qualified tire technician. Without regular inspection, the vehicle owner is only hoping for the best.
The owner of the vehicle is responsible for the regular maintenance and monitoring of its tires. If a driver does not own the vehicle, he/she must ensure the owner is adhering to the recommended maintenance and replacement schedule.
Written by:
Guy L. Watts, II
Watts Guerra LLP
4 Dominion Drive, Bldg 3, Suite 100
San Antonio, Texas 78257
Phone (210) 447-0500
© Watts Guerra LLP 2015
