
The
media has been agog about tyre blowout for the past 2 weeks since the former Nigerian
minister for trade and productivity died in a car crash which was said to have
been caused by over speeding and a tyre blowout, may his soul rest in perfect peace.
Well some of us have been in similar situations but were lucky to get out
safely and unhurt.
My
experience was at the city of Ibadan one extremely hot afternoon last month in one
of the notorious Nissan Micra taxis along with a lady and a man, I was on my
way to Iwo road park where I planned to board a minibus to another city when suddenly,
about 5 kilometers to the park and on high speed, we heard a loud bang by the
right side where I was sitting. I immediately knew it was a burst tyre and I
started repeating to the driver" don't step on the brakes!" as I knew
that could be the difference between life and death. Luckily the driver did not
match the brakes and he had just started to stir the car away from the middle
of the road when the lady sitting at the front opened the car and almost jumped
out of the car save from me who promptly held tightly to her cloth, this act enraged the man sitting
beside me and he started to yell at the lady uncontrollably and all hell broke
loose again.
I was torn between looking out for the driver
to avoid another car smashing into ours, preventing the girl from jumping down
and killing herself and making the enraged fellow beside me to chilll...all
these happened in about 10-20 second and I was surprised at how so many things
could go south in such a short period of time. I was initially surprised at the
decision the girl made and how the man kept adding to the problems by yelling
when we were still in the face of trouble but really, who can blame the two of
them? The girl was already in a full state of panic and apparently thought
jumping down from the car was the safest decision since she could make and the
man certainly thought he should chide her immediately instead of waiting and preventing
further problems.
The
driver certainly has all the fault as I observed that the burst tyre expired
about a year before the incident and he didn't even know that could be a dangerous
thing. This brings me to the level of driver education and even passenger
education in the country, while I certainly can't comment on the efforts being
made to educate the citizens about how to react to emergency situations, I know
more efforts have to be made to prevent avoidable deaths and injuries on our
roads.
Incidents
of tyre blowout are especially common during hot periods and special care needs
to be taken to avoid them. I returned to Ibadan about a week later, stayed for
some days and I witnessed at least 5 tyre blowouts mostly from cars and busses
used to transport residents of the state. This is a very horrific trend and it
might be a bomb waiting to explode if efforts are not made to arrest the nip in
the bud before it's too late.
In
case you ever find yourself in a tyre blowout situation, here is what I think
you should do.

TYRE BLOWOUT
AND WHAT TO DO
Tyre
blowouts are rare but happen occasionally
STOPPING THE
CAR
Your task is of course to stop the car as soon as possible,
but so not to endanger other road users, pedestrians and to do so in a
controlled and safe manoeuvre. In the event of a tyre blowout you will
have lost 25% of contact with the road surface. Your car will also be far more
unstable. Try to avoid sudden and abrupt steering or braking.
Whilst keeping momentum of your vehicle by using the
accelerator, keep control by keeping both hands on the wheel and you will need
to ascertain an escape route. Use your mirrors – especially important if on a
motorway as you will need to head towards the hard shoulder.
Once you have established an escape route and your car is
stable, very gently ease off the accelerator, but avoid using the
brakes. If you have a car with a manual gearbox, you should try to change
down the gears from high to low in order to reduce the speed of the car.
Lift your foot off the acceleration pedal gently in order to
slow down the car. This way the car will decelerate on its own. In any
instance, try to find a safe area to stop the car at the side of the road or on
the emergency lane.
TYRE BLOW-OUT
TIPS
·
Remain
calm
·
Don’t
push the brake
·
Gently
accelerate to keep momentum
·
Use
the gears to slow the car
·
Find
a safe area to stop
TIPS TO
AVOIDING A TYRE BLOWOUT
A tyre blowout is a terrifying experience, even for the
experienced motorist. A blowout can on many occasions be unavoidable, but a
little tyre maintenance and checks can help to avoid such an experience.
·
Regularly
check tyre tread depth. Depth should be at least 1.6mm around the entire
circumference of the tyre and at least across 3/4 of the breadth of the tyre to
remain safe and legal.
·
Check
there are no cuts or bulges either on the outer or inner edge of the tyres.
These can lead to a puncture or tyre blowout so replace if necessary.
·
Avoid
using old tyres. Even if a tyre looks in good condition, rubber deteriorates
over time and can become weak. It is recommended to change tyres that are
five years of age or over, even if they have had little use and appear in good
condition.
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I think a lot of tyre blowouts appears because of low quality of tyres. I am using Continental PremiumContact 5. You shouldn't use old tyres, it's a chance to avoid accidents.
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