Anyone who has ever experienced a burst tyre while travelling at a relatively high speeds, understands how challenging and frightening it can be. Should you ever find yourself in this situation, knowing what to do so that muscle memory kicks in and takes over, despite how your fear affects your reaction, can make all the difference.
The ideal scenario is to prevent a blowout from happening all together. “In most cases the cause is an unattended puncture,” says Dewald Ranft, Chairman of the Motor Industry Workshop Association (MIWA), an association of the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI). “Sometimes you are lucky enough to detect the puncture early and can fix it, but this is not always the case. A burst tyre when travelling over 100km/h can be a frightening experience and a risk to the driver and surrounding cars,” he says.
Ranft shares six tips from the Cornerstone Youth Club in Bloemfontein on how to stop a car safely when one of the tyres explodes at a speed exceeding 100km/h. Supaquick contributed additional safety measures as well.
Step 1 – Stay Calm
When a tyre explodes try to stay as calm as possible and hold the steering wheel firmly with both hands.
Step 2 – Don’t brake
It’s most important to keep your foot off the brakes. Most people’s natural instinct is to slam on brakes, however, this can cause you to spin and lose control of the vehicle completely.
Step 3 – Keep going straight
Continue travelling straight to avoid any collisions following the blowout. Your car will swerve in the direction of the blowout but try retain control by focussing on the steering and, gradually and carefully slowing down when you can. Remember the deceleration force caused by the burst tyre will cause your car to slow down rapidly so it is best to maintain your speed and then gradually ease off the accelerator.
Step 4 – Gearing
In manual transmissions, gradually change to a lower gear BUT ONLY do so if you feel that the car is completely under control. If your car has an automatic transmission, stay in the Drive (D) gear and DO NOT change. The drag from the exploded tyre will slow you down.
Step 5 – Do not over correct
When you first feel the swerve of your car after the blowout, it may be tempting to panic and turn the steering wheel hard in the other direction. Unfortunately, this will only increase the chance of losing control. Rather, do your best to keep it straight as detailed in step three.
Step 6 – Coast to a stop
Let your vehicle come to a gradual stop, using engine braking if necessary. Ensure it is safe for you to stop there before doing so and once you come to a complete standstill turn on your hazard lights. Generally, when the speed drops to 50 km/h, you can gently press the brakes until the car stops.
“We urge all motorists to take these steps seriously and familiarise themselves with the various stages so that you and others on the road are more likely to survive a blowout unscathed. Ultimately, it is very important to stick to the speed limit in case of any unforeseen emergencies,” concludes Ranft.
The CEO of MasterDrive, Eugene Herbert, adds that drivers should not forget to be aware of the motorists around them when deciding how to react. “Check your rear-view mirror to ensure you know where vehicles behind you are and if they are at a ‘safe’ distance for you to take corrective action. Depending on what lane you are in, make sure it is safe to move to the left so that you can pull over when your speed has been reduced.
“A tyre blowout is a frightening experience and one should do everything possible to minimise the risk. This starts by maintaining your tyres and doing regular checks to identify problems immediately. The next step is to then know what to do should you still experience it,” says Herbert.