Blown Truck Tires , Littering Our Highways !

It's "drivers" like these, that are ruining things, for everybody else, including the public.

They need to go away.

At least here in TN they have two different crews. One is likely contracted out and does the small item pick up and they put larger stuff on the outside edge of the shoulder along with their full bags. However, I've also seen what appear to be THD trucks going along and picking up just larger chunks.

I read somewhere about half of roadside trash blows out of the back of pickups. Rest is throw-aways.

TN had a 'pass the bottle' law and revoked it. Now none of the passengers can be consuming alcohol. A empty, but still fresh, can or bottle counts as an open container. Thus, roadside cans and bottles have increased.

None the less, the only tires I have EVER had blow, on my car or on the big rigs I used to drive, were retreads. Could be coincidence.

Maybe because the sidewall stays on the wheel.

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That would be the reasoning behind assuming the tread on the road is from a retread and not a new tire.

I have been fortunate enough to have never witnessed a semi tire blow-out.

There is no magic in the inflation numbers on the sidewalls of the tire!
Did you know there is a specific inflation for every load?
Do you get out and change your tire inflation with every change in truck weight?
There's also a factor to be used when driving on different surfaces. Do you change your tire pressure when you go from concrete to asphalt?

Could it be simply that if you drive a lot of miles on retreads its in the odds?

Really????

I can tell when a tire is low just from looking at it, empty or loaded. When I first got my CDL I couldn't make this statement. Years of watching tires, thumping and sticking them have developed this skill. It doesn't come overnight.

Sticking (using a tire gauge) tires can be time consuming, but a must. Not a daily chore, but at least every few days. Thumping tires SEVERAL times during a 14 hour day with regualr driving is a must. Unfortunately it's regularly ignored.

Developing the habit of checking tires on a timely basis can eliminate tire failures. Unfortunately, many drivers feel pressured to use their time otherwise instead of following proper safety regulations.

I agree.

And when there is an issue with a big truck, 9 times out of 10 it needs more than a 10 minute fix. In this game, too many drivers feel that they can "let the next guy fix it". Been there, been the victim too many times. Result: gators on the road.

I've personally had my share of blow outs and have actually retrieved the carcass off the roadway. On the other hand, just what the heck does my HVUT taxes pay for anyhow? Some of that $500.00 annual payment should be going to MAINTAIN the roadway, not pretty up bike trails.

I think there is a big difference between the experienced and the inexperienced semi drivers out there, in the way they perform safety checks and make the appropriate adjustments. There also seems to be, on this particular subject - a HUGE difference in truck maintenance between the owner-operator and the company driver. As has been said above - the company driver may take the lazy way out and "leave it for the next guy" - where the owner operator takes care of things almost before they happen, if he can - because he IS the next guy. Scary to note here, that there are folks getting hired on as Company Drivers everywhere these days - and they are definately not the cream of the crop - just there and willing to take the job. And to the OP - it would be nice if a trucker could stop and pick up the pieces - but on the dual wheel tires, by the time he could come to a stop, he's a couple hundred yards down the road, all 80,000 pounds of him - and they are not usually allowed to pull over or block traffic - some road shoulders won't support him. And yes - there seems to be more rubber littering the highways these days - tires are not wearing as well - even though we are spending twice as much as just a couple years ago on them.

What usually happens is the tire lets go and the tread is beaten off the sidewall by slapping the pavement and/or truck/trailer. The second wheel prevents the sidewalls from hitting. I've seen several semi wheels with nothing left on them but two sidewalls. Think of two really big rubber CD's on a shaft.


I've seen one from behind and experienced one while ridding in truck. Its a lot more of an experience from behind, sitting in the truck I didn't even know a tire had let go until the driver side "Uh-oh" and started slowing down.

__________________
Remember, when seconds count. . .
the police are just MINUTES away!

Congress has no power to appropriate this money as an act of charity. Every member upon this floor knows it. . .Davy Crockett

It isn't blown tires. It is peel off from caps, retreads. We see very little of that here in Vermont and New Hampshire. Not sure why. There are plenty of big tractor trailer trucks on our highways. I see the occasional pied of tire but it is rare.

The second poster is correct, the trucker probably was not even aware of the tire coming apart. It just feels like a bump at most to them.

As to having to go back and pick it up, you're not thinking clearly. Even if they were aware of it they could be a mile down the road before they could safely stop. Loaded big rigs don't stop on a dime. 99,000 lbs of mass takes a long time to safely slow down. Doing so is dangerous and would endanger other drivers on the road. Then the trucker would be endangered trying to retrieve the pieces and he could cause accidents endangering other people. It really isn't feasible for him to go pick up the pieces. Physics.

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most OTR trucks are limited to 80,000 lbs unless they are permitted. And not many do that.

In the fall, farmers are given typically a 10% (8000) leway for harvest allowing them to go to 88,000 lbs for first harvest haul only.

FMCSR 396.11 requires tires to be inspected. Doesn't say how, just says they have to be inspected AND report the condition.

FMCSR 393.75 however.....
So if a tire blows, it's highly likely it's from overheating from under-inflation, overloading or some other thing a driver did/didn't do to the tire.


ETA:
It doesn't say you have to use a tire guage or any other thing. Just that it has to match the load carried. So an empty truck might very well be able to run at 60 psi. You can tell just by looking at the face of a tire if it's under or over inflated for any given load.
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f9/ti...-bfg-s-478109/

highlands, I did review the national highway safety study and only 16% were from defective tires. How they were able to tell they didn't say. According to the study the top 2 causes of tire failure are physical conditions (something in the road) and maintenance and operational issues. Overheating was the cause in 30% of the failures and some of those could be related to maintenance.

And I never said the driver should go back and pick up the tire. I drive a lot of interstate routes in Columbus. Never ever would I even suggest anyone stop a semi along most of those routes, not even in an emergency situation. There just isn't room to stop and many people in Columbus would rather run you over than stop for you.

Having digested this for a day, I want to ask this question.

How would people be able to get their consumable goods without trucking companies? I mean truly only use goods that have not come in contact with trucking companies. Walk to the neighbors and barter for goods I suppose.

I have heard the complaint and experienced the wrath from citizens for a long time that don't want trucks in their neighborhoods, yet want their toilet paper, clothing, shingles for their roofs, and gasoline for their cars, etc., etc., etc.

Think about it, the old saying still holds true: If you GOT it, a truck BROUGHT it.

Best to address the state and find out why the taxes are not being used to hire clean up crews.

ETA: It is a hazard to other CMV's also. Other drivers have no idea why the tire carcass is laying on the road, and 99% of the time try to avoid running over them.

Read your post again. You asked if seeing cords was proof the tire was a brand new non-retread. I said it wasn't. Just proof of carcass failure.

I never said a word about sidewalls, you've added that all by yourself.

.................First off I hold NO BIAS towards truck or their drivers ! The obvious hazards attributable too large pieces of blown tires affect large trucks the least ! And , expecting drivers too retrieve the pieces is not a safe solution either . So , I'm thinking each driver should report each event too their dispatcher and the company should take responsibility for the mess that their vehicle's tires create and establish a mutually agreeable plan involving the company and state agencies too remove tire parts and pieces on a timely basis .
..................Currently , old pieces of tires lay around on the road shoulders for weeks because there is NO formal plan too address the situation . This is not acceptable in my opinion . , fordy

Any blown tire has to be reapired. It cost a lot of $ to repair. It's no $5 fix, and the trucking companies are highly aware of the tire failure.

Many of the public do not know that some companies make drivers return carcasses to their terminals, or else the drivers are actually fined.

Again, there are monies poured into state coffers that cover road clean up. This is through the federal highway transit funds.

It's called HVUT. Heavy Vehicle Use Tax. EACH and EVERY CMV on the road has to pay $550 a year tax to operate on public roads. If not paid, they can't go on the roads. There IS a fund established, in fact it's been paid in advance.

The concerns about tire carcasses on public roads need to be addressed to the state department of transportation.