Every year thousands of rollover accidents involving SUV’s, passenger vans and trucks happen on our roads, resulting in catastrophic injuries and even death. These accidents oftentimes are a result of tire failure caused by defects found in the tires.
Types of Tire Defects
Improperly manufactured or designed tires can cause serious injury or death. The most common and widespread defects include:
Tire Inflation Explosion
This occurs when the tire explodes during inflation due to bead, sidewall or rim failure.
Tread or Belt Separation
Steel-belted radial tires use belts made from steel to reinforce the area under the tread. Tread or belt separation occurs when the thread of the steel belted radial tire separates from the rest of the tire.
Lack of Cap Ply
Some tires have cap plies, an extra layer or two of polyester fabric that helps all the components of a tire stay in place at high speeds. Lack of cap-ply is known to affect a tire’s performance leading to a blowout, tread loss or tire belt peels that cause the vehicle to lose control and cause a serious accident. Oftentimes the vehicle rolls over and the driver and passengers are seriously hurt or die.
Tire Aging
When a tire has been in service for too long and the tread is worn out, the tire is subject to various mechanisms of failure. This includes blow outs and tread separations.
Most drivers are unaware of the age of their tires. Older tires are prone to blowouts and tread separations due to the rubber drying over time. With no restrictions that constitute a tire as old, tires oftentimes sit on store shelves for many years and are still sold as new, although most experts say that the life of a tire is no more than 4 to 6 years.
