Properly functioning tires are essential for vehicle safety. When a tire works well, a truck has a good grip on the road and can stop and make turns with ease. Unfortunately, when tires fail, a truck becomes unstable and unmanageable.
At Pottroff & Karlin, LLC, we help motorists like you who have been injured in truck accidents. We can investigate whether a problem with a tire led to your collision and try to pinpoint who is responsible. Contact us to learn more.
Old Rubber Can Crack
Tires are made up mostly of rubber, which has excellent flexibility—when new. Trucking companies should only put new tires on their vehicles. But to save money, they might use an old tire, or the tire might appear “new” although it has been sitting on a shelf for years.
As rubber ages, it becomes brittle and prone to cracking. These cracks increase the likelihood that a tire will blow under pressure or at high speeds, and a truck can become immediately unstable. The cargo in a tractor-trailer could also shift, increasing the instability. Trucks are at an increased risk of swerving into oncoming traffic or even rolling over if the trucker cannot get the vehicle under control. Sometimes the loss of control for only one or two seconds is enough for a collision.
Tire Tread Can Separate
Tires have multiple layers. The tread is bonded to the tire casing using a chemical process. Unfortunately, this bonding process could be defective, and the tread can separate while a truck is in motion.
Tread separation is also more likely to occur with a recapped or repaired tire. Many trucking companies repair old tires to save money. Unfortunately, they compromise public safety all for the sake of saving a few bucks.
Obviously, tread separation is a genuine issue. As with a blowout, a trucker might be unable to control their rig after a separation. They could easily crash into other vehicles on the road.
Overinflated & Underinflated Tires Can Blow
Tires are tricky. They need to have a precise amount of pressure. Put too much in, and the odds of a blowout go way up. Think of a balloon with too much pressure—even a slight push could cause it to burst. But underinflate a tire, and the odds of a blowout increase as well. Underinflated tires put excess pressure on the tire’s walls, leading to failure.
Underinflated Tires Take Longer to Stop
As if blowouts weren’t enough of a problem, underinflated tires can also cause accidents because a truck needs more time to stop. Many override accidents stem from underinflated tires. A trucker who doesn’t know the pressure is low might fail to hit the brakes in time, causing tragedy.
Were You Injured in a Truck Accident?
To receive compensation, we need to show more than you were hit by a truck. We also need to assign fault for the collision. In many cases, a truck driver or his employer is liable for the collision. But if a tire was defective, then the manufacturer might be on the hook. To get started today, please contact our law firm.
