A tire blowout can happen to anyone. Because it cannot be avoidable, the best thing you can do is to be prepared in the event of a tire blowout.
Keep Your Vehicle Balanced
The goal in any emergency highway situation should be to keep your vehicle balanced, in control and on the roadway. As you gain control, slow your speed and gradually pull off the highway to the right as far as possible.
Don’t Slam on the Brakes
Never slam on the brakes! This is the first instinct but it can cause your vehicle to roll over or slide sideways and you might wind up in the middle of the highway with dozens of cars coming right at you. Do not take your foot off the accelerater too fast either! When you do this, the weight of your car is transferred from the rear tires to the front tires, causing a loss of control. Slow down very gradually.
Go To A Safe Place
Be sure to pull off the road to a safe place. Many times, people pull off to the shoulder, and are actually only a few feet away from traffic that is moving at 70 miles per hour. If just one of those drivers stops watching the road for a moment to play with their radio or phone, then they can swerve enough to cause a major accident. This is one of the main reasons for highway accidents. More than one police officer has been hit by oncoming traffic simply because he or she did not pull over far enough.
Related Post: Why It’s Dangerous To Drive With Worn Tires
Put on your Hazard Blinkers
As soon as you are safely stopped, put on your Hazard Blinkers and any other head or tail lights that are accessible. Look carefully behind you and in the rearview mirror before opening your door. Make sure there are no cars coming in the right hand lane before opening your door. Get out of the car quickly and to the rear, opening your trunk. If you have flares or traffic cones, place them at the front and back of your car.
Call For Assistance
If you subscribe to a towing service or have roadside assistance on your insurance plan, then stay inside the car and call for assistance. The very safest thing you can do is to stay inside the vehicle and wait for help to come. Before any type of lengthy trip, make sure to have a good spare tire, jack and all the parts of the jack necessary to fix a flat.
