Identifying the Most Common Tire Defects
Of the many malfunctioning parts of a car that can go wrong and cause an accident, defects in car tires are among the most common. Each year there are more than 33,000 car crashes that occur due to tire defects. These accidents injury 19,000 people as a result. You can’t completely safeguard yourself from all tire issues which could lead to an accident, but there are steps you can take to proactively protect yourself and reduce your risk for an accident due to a tire defect.
What Are The Most Common Reasons For Tire Defects?
There are two ways that you can experience a defective tire. The first is from poor manufacturing processes or manufacturer error. The second is from wear and tear by regularly driving your car. Common issues that affect tires and can cause them to degrade include:
- Know the right amount of tire pressure your tires require. Both under inflation and over inflation are dangerous for driving. Both can cause the tire to break down much faster when in use than when your tire is at it’s proper pressure. Especially during changes in temperature, check your tire pressure to see if they have been affected.
- Driving can heat up tires due to friction on the road. Specifically, in very hot environmental conditions, the excessive heat that will overwhelm a tire will cause the expansion of the air inside. If there is too much expansion the pressure can lead to a blowout.
- Bald tires or those with very worn and dull tread don’t offer enough traction to the road. Your ability to stop and maneuver your car effectively and safely is greatly reduced when the grip is poor. In inclement conditions such as rain or ice, the dangers of worn tires while driving are increased substantially.
- If you notice tread separation where the rubber is retracting from the rim of your wheel, be aware because this is also a concern for blowouts to occur.
- Another thing you can periodically look for is if there are any punctures in your tires. Holes will impact your tire’s pressure and can lead to performance issues that make driving much more difficult and risky. It doesn’t take a large hole, even the smallest opening can be problematic.
- When a manufacturer has a poor design or uses substandard materials, or if there are problems with the manufacturing process not being done correctly you could get a defective product that is unsafe even before you drive with it.
- Improperly installed tires that aren’t secured correctly will not only affect the smoothness of your ride, but this could potentially lead to your tire falling off. When this happens, your car will spin out of control and put you in a much more vulnerable position for a serious accident.
Finding An Arizona Car Accident Attorney
Taking some time to do a quick visual check to examine the integrity of your tires and wheels will pay off when your inspection spots potential issues which could be dangerous for you on the road. If you were hit on the road by another driver that had a malfunction or was driving recklessly a Phoenix automobile accident injury attorney from ELG can help you recoup your costs with a personal injury claim. Our bilingual, Spanish-speaking team of Arizona personal injury lawyers only work on personal injury cases and our firm is well-known for aggressively fighting to protect the legal rights of our clients.
Call ELG today to schedule your free consultation with one of our knowledgeable Phoenix serious injury attorneys today at (623) 877-3600.