Facts about tyre blowout
It
is interesting and encouraging that the death of the former Minister of
State for Labour and Employment and a top military officer in a car
crash along Kaduna – Abuja and Maiduguri roads respectively has brought
to fore, some fundamental issues which have hitherto been played down at
various levels. In the same week, two pathetic accidents also occurred
on Bauchi and Owo – Akure roads which led to the loss of over 20 lives.
In this article, I will focus on just one of those safety issues, TYRE PROBLEMS. The two sad accidents were caused by tyre blowouts.
It is expedient for every driver to deeply understand the physical forces (Kinetic energy or Momentum, Centrifugal force, Traction or Friction, road banking etc), how they affect the control of the vehicle (acceleration, steering and braking) and how to prevent the loss of control.
I would like to classify this piece into 2, The Quality of Tyres and the Handling of Tyres as they affect driving.
QUALITY OF TYRES – The quality of tyres depend to a very large extent on the chemical compound of the rubber used in manufacturing the tyres, the tyre construction (bias, bias-belted or radial-ply), the tyre thread design (all – weather, snow or conventional passenger tyres). The more the rubber is in contact with the road, the more the degree of traction but the rate of traction reduces when the road is wet. The various types of tyres also vary in terms of their effectiveness in stopping, and cornering.
There is also a need for the drivers to be able to decode the tyre
sidewall information (passenger code, load code, weight – speed code,
traction grade, temperature grade, tyre size, construction information,
etc).
In a nut shell, the following handling factors can cause a tyre blowout or allied problems – Quality of the tyres (production error, worn out tyres, tyres without adequate thread depth, expired tyres even if new, twisted tyres, improper tyre rotation, improper or careless mounting of tyres, etc).
Defects (caused by frequent climbing of road kerb or other objects, frequent scrubbing of the tyre sideways against road median or road kerbs, wrong patching of punctured tyres), under – inflation or over – inflation of tyres, damage by sharp objects on the road, wheel spinning (especially when the tyre gets stuck in a mud), Speed (the faster your speed, the faster also your vehicle tyres will wear out), the temperature and temperature changes.
Handling – Every driver and vehicle owner must know the limit of adhesion which is determined by the grip of the tyres to the road. This depends largely on the tyre design as earlier mentioned, the vertical force placed on the tyre (the load or weight), the tyre and condition of the road surface, and the vehicle speed.
A combination of acceleration, steering and or braking has a lot to do with weight transfer which in turn determines the stability or loss of control of the vehicle.
In addition to tyre blowout, other factors which can make a vehicle to roll-over or summersault include: cornering at a high speed, over-braking while cornering at a high speed, over-steering while over speeding, faulty suspension system, wide vehicle- ground clearance and overloading.
For safety on the road, always obey the speed limit or adjust your speed (according to your skill, vehicle condition and the environmental factors, especially the road surface); avoid speedy take-off, speedy steering and speedy stopping; avoid potholes, stones and sharp objects on the road, avoid climbing road kerbs or scrubbing your tyre walls against road median or kerbs, avoid overloading or load/passenger imbalance in the vehicle, do regular wheel balancing and alignment, and don’t despise expert advice on the right tyres to buy for your vehicles. Prevention is better and cheaper than cure.
In this article, I will focus on just one of those safety issues, TYRE PROBLEMS. The two sad accidents were caused by tyre blowouts.
It is expedient for every driver to deeply understand the physical forces (Kinetic energy or Momentum, Centrifugal force, Traction or Friction, road banking etc), how they affect the control of the vehicle (acceleration, steering and braking) and how to prevent the loss of control.
I would like to classify this piece into 2, The Quality of Tyres and the Handling of Tyres as they affect driving.
QUALITY OF TYRES – The quality of tyres depend to a very large extent on the chemical compound of the rubber used in manufacturing the tyres, the tyre construction (bias, bias-belted or radial-ply), the tyre thread design (all – weather, snow or conventional passenger tyres). The more the rubber is in contact with the road, the more the degree of traction but the rate of traction reduces when the road is wet. The various types of tyres also vary in terms of their effectiveness in stopping, and cornering.
There is also a need for the drivers to be able to decode the tyre
sidewall information (passenger code, load code, weight – speed code,
traction grade, temperature grade, tyre size, construction information,
etc).In a nut shell, the following handling factors can cause a tyre blowout or allied problems – Quality of the tyres (production error, worn out tyres, tyres without adequate thread depth, expired tyres even if new, twisted tyres, improper tyre rotation, improper or careless mounting of tyres, etc).
Defects (caused by frequent climbing of road kerb or other objects, frequent scrubbing of the tyre sideways against road median or road kerbs, wrong patching of punctured tyres), under – inflation or over – inflation of tyres, damage by sharp objects on the road, wheel spinning (especially when the tyre gets stuck in a mud), Speed (the faster your speed, the faster also your vehicle tyres will wear out), the temperature and temperature changes.
Handling – Every driver and vehicle owner must know the limit of adhesion which is determined by the grip of the tyres to the road. This depends largely on the tyre design as earlier mentioned, the vertical force placed on the tyre (the load or weight), the tyre and condition of the road surface, and the vehicle speed.
A combination of acceleration, steering and or braking has a lot to do with weight transfer which in turn determines the stability or loss of control of the vehicle.
In addition to tyre blowout, other factors which can make a vehicle to roll-over or summersault include: cornering at a high speed, over-braking while cornering at a high speed, over-steering while over speeding, faulty suspension system, wide vehicle- ground clearance and overloading.
For safety on the road, always obey the speed limit or adjust your speed (according to your skill, vehicle condition and the environmental factors, especially the road surface); avoid speedy take-off, speedy steering and speedy stopping; avoid potholes, stones and sharp objects on the road, avoid climbing road kerbs or scrubbing your tyre walls against road median or kerbs, avoid overloading or load/passenger imbalance in the vehicle, do regular wheel balancing and alignment, and don’t despise expert advice on the right tyres to buy for your vehicles. Prevention is better and cheaper than cure.
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