Bald Tires and Tire Blowouts In Jackson, Ms

It may or may not come as a surprise to motorists that tire blowouts are a leading cause of truck accidents across the nation. We’ve all seen torn tire shreds on the side of the roadway. Perhaps, we’ve even handled a flat tire or tire blowout on our own cars, but what happens when truck drivers travel around on bald tires? The answer is, they’re playing with fire. Truck drivers who fail to properly maintain their tires are at an increased risk for tire blowouts and other tire problems. If you’ve ever had a blowout, you know just how scary it can be to temporarily lose control of your vehicle or have to hold the wheel steady as your car pulls violently to one side. Now, try to image that you’re behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound vehicle going 70 miles per hour, and you have a blowout.

The Importance of Tires on Semi Trucks

Tires are probably one of the most, if not the most, critical pieces of equipment on a large truck. This is quite literally where the rubber meets the road, and tire maintenance needs to be a top priority for truck drivers on a regular basis. We know that truck tires have to be checked and entered into log books, but what about daily maintenance and checking tires in between or during trips? A lot can happen to a set of tires over a couple hundred or a thousand miles. Truck drivers need to be checking their tires for issues like irregular wear every day, before every drive.

The Trouble With Bald Tires

Truck drivers or commercial trucking companies might be thinking about their bottom lines when they’re pushing the envelope on bald tires. Maybe, they’re hoping to stretch every last usable mile out of a tire before they retire. Unfortunately, it’s this type of practice that leads to dangerous tire blowouts. Additionally, bald tires also have decreased performance capabilities. Anybody who has ever tried to stop in the rain on a set of bald tires knows exactly how this works. Large commercial trucks don’t stop on a dime under the best of circumstances, but add bald tires to the scenario and you’re looking at a pretty dangerous situation should that truck need to stop in the event of an emergency.