How To Handle Your Vehicle During A Tire Blowout
Tire blowouts and flats are one of the main reasons for traffic-related collisions and fatalities each year. For most of the drivers, there’s nothing more dangerous and frightening than a tire blowout at high speeds. While automatic tire pressure monitoring systems have significantly helped reduce the number of tire-related incidents, many people are still finding it hard to avoid this issue.
With all the technological advancements and safety standards in place, why are tire blowouts still a major car safety problem? Since tire blowouts happen rarely, most of the drivers don’t know how to handle or react to such unfortunate situations. A tire blowout only takes a ¼ second before your ride becomes uncontrollable.
The very first step to deal with a tire blowout situation is to stay calm and remember some vital guidelines that will help you maintain control of your vehicle. But before we discuss some of the essential things to do after suffering a vehicle tire blowout, it’s vital to know how you can avoid such dangerous situations in the first place.
Common Causes Of Tire Car Blowouts
Knowing what to do when you experience a tire blowout circumstance can no doubt help save lives, but avoiding that crisis from happening is even better. First of all, it’s vital to know about some of the significant causes of tire blowouts to prevent them from happening.
Some of the common reasons for tire blowouts may include:
- Worn-out tires having a lower-than-required tread depth
- Over as well as under-inflated tires
- A flat tire or slow leaks
- Structurally compromised tires
- External factors such as extreme heat, nails on the road, potholes, and other tire-damaging road hazards
Now, we’ll discuss what you should do when your vehicle goes through a significant tire blowout danger:
Keep Calm
If one of the front tires of your car blows out, it will affect your steering. In case of a rear tire blowout, you’ll notice that your vehicle’s body will move as it pulls to one side. It doesn’t matter which tire blows out; keep calm and firmly hold the steering wheel with both hands to maintain control of your car.
Avoid Making Quick Movements
Do not apply brakes suddenly or pull your foot off the gas pedal to stop your car at once. Attempting to stop your vehicle quickly will make it harder for you to maintain its control. Also, keep a firm grip on the steering wheel, drive straight, and avoid flipping the wheel suddenly so that your car doesn’t lose traction.
Decelerate Your Car Gradually
Try to maintain your car’s speed constant as much as you can and let the vehicle slow down on its own. After you feel you’ve got the car under complete control, turn on the emergency lights and pull your foot off the gas pedal gently to slow down the speed of your vehicle.
Pull-Over And Off To The Side
Observe the traffic, and look for a safe place on the side of the road to pull over. Don’t forget to keep your car’s steering wheel straight while slowing it down.
Contact Roadside Assistance
After pulling over safely on the side of the road, contact professional roadside assistance service providers near you to help you replace a flat tire or resolve any other mechanical issue with your car. They can also tow your vehicle to a nearby mechanic for quick repairs or to your destination safely if needed.
Action Towing provides professional roadside assistance services in Edmonton, Alberta. Visit our website to explore our expert towing services or call us for quick roadside assistance.
