beware the 18 wheeler

[ike]

Forum Sponsor

This happened to me a few years ago on hwy 403 near Hamilton... I was in the left lane, the truck was in the right lane a few hundred feet ahead. I saw a puff of smoke, heard a bang, then saw huge chunks of tread flying out from the blown truck tire. Luckily I was able to avoid being hit, and avoided most of the debris littering the road. I pulled off the highway to inspect my tires for damage - most of these chunks of rubber contained hundreds of needle-sharp steel pieces sticking out of the edges (the remains of the steel belting in the tread) that could cause serious injury to a person, or damage to your motorcycle tires.

The problem (IMHO) is that Ontario allows trucks to use re-treaded tires. It is usually these re-treads that detach from the body of the tire, leaving behind huge pieces of tread that have the potential to kill people and cause all sorts of mayhem on our roads. The only solution at this point is to stay far away from trucks (and lobby the government to ban retreaded tires.) If you are passing a truck and hear a slapping sound coming from one of their tires, get out of there - fast!

 

[nearace]

they where 3 abreast,bus left lane ,truck middle lane,truck right lane,gotta drive somewhere.

 

[ike]

they where 3 abreast,bus left lane ,truck middle lane,truck right lane,gotta drive somewhere.

Hang well back and wait until there is sufficient space to accelerate past the truck quickly. Also, use the "2 second rule" for following distance, but if a vehicle ahead blows a tire and debris starts flying out, that isnt enough space... you need 3-5 seconds of space to avoid the debris. Keep an eye on vehicles towing trailers full of stuff too... many times the loads are not adequately tied down and pieces can fly out.
Keeping your eyes open, and maintaining a safe following distance are your best defences against these types of occurrences.

 

[socially distorted]

I always thought those things just kind of peeled off but I was driving beside a transport one day and the damn things actually blow. Noise and debris everywhere ... Scared the ***** out of me

 

[ike]

I always thought those things just kind of peeled off but I was driving beside a transport one day and the damn things actually blow. Noise and debris everywhere ... Scared the ***** out of me

It can be quite startling for sure! Imagine getting hit with a 10 pound chunk of tread at 100 km/h...the results wouldn't be pretty.

A friend of mine ran over one of these large chunks of tread in his car... it nearly ripped his transmission out. Recently, on the 401 in Whitby, I witnessed a small Toyota running over a large chunk of tread (about 4' long.) The chunk of tread got spit out from the back end of their car, became airborne, and hit the car following behind. It all happened in a split second and I shudder to think what might have happened if it had been a motorcycle that got hit by this flying piece of tread.

 

[espro]

Aw yeah, that's what I like to see when I browse GTAM, censored curse words and pictures of dead people.

 

[casacrow]

I don't run em, but I disagree with you about retreads. I've been looking for failed retread debris for years. I haven't seen any yet.

This happened to me a few years ago on hwy 403 near Hamilton... I was in the left lane, the truck was in the right lane a few hundred feet ahead. I saw a puff of smoke, heard a bang, then saw huge chunks of tread flying out from the blown truck tire. Luckily I was able to avoid being hit, and avoided most of the debris littering the road. I pulled off the highway to inspect my tires for damage - most of these chunks of rubber contained hundreds of needle-sharp steel pieces sticking out of the edges (the remains of the steel belting in the tread) that could cause serious injury to a person, or damage to your motorcycle tires.

The problem (IMHO) is that Ontario allows trucks to use re-treaded tires. It is usually these re-treads that detach from the body of the tire, leaving behind huge pieces of tread that have the potential to kill people and cause all sorts of mayhem on our roads. The only solution at this point is to stay far away from trucks (and lobby the government to ban retreaded tires.) If you are passing a truck and hear a slapping sound coming from one of their tires, get out of there - fast!

 

[ike]

I don't run em, but I disagree with you about retreads. I've been looking for failed retread debris for years. I haven't seen any yet.

Well, I could be wrong of course - I got that information from a fellow who worked for Firestone - perhaps that was the line he used to sell new truck tires. (It makes sense, though - when you see a 10 foot long peel of tread lying at the side of the road.)

Just for my own interest - How would one tell if a piece of tread was from a failed retread or a failed original tire?

 

[casacrow]

I used to argue with guys all the time about retreads. I thought they were junk too. I was told that almost all the tire debris we see is from blown tires, not retreads. If its got metal in it, it's from a blown tire. Could still be a blown retread I guess.

Edit- I see I have 3 more in my post count than you. Don't you know on GTAM that makes everything I say true by default, and you are not to question me?

Well, I could be wrong of course - I got that information from a fellow who worked for Firestone - perhaps that was the line he used to sell new truck tires. (It makes sense, though.)

Just for my own interest - How would you tell if a piece of tread was from a failed retread or a failed original tire?

 

[ike]

Edit- I see I have 3 more in my post count than you. Don't you know on GTAM that makes everything I say true by default, and you are not to question me?

Sorry... didn't know the "default" rule... I bow to your superior knowledge bestowed upon you by your extra 3 post counts....LMAO!

Seriously... thanks for the information on retreads. I guess my lesson here is ... never trust a salesman! LOL!

 

[油井緋色]

Forgot to contribute: not a truck but a Civic.

On Tuesday, exiting the 407, I was trailing behind some adventure bike. In front of him was a civic. Immediately after exiting the highway, I see the adventure bike's rear fish a bit, I look ahead and see that the Civic's entire wheel had fallen off.

No one was hurt and both bikes stayed up., I can't imagine what kind of scare an 18 wheeler would give me =/

 

[The_Marl]

I don't run em, but I disagree with you about retreads. I've been looking for failed retread debris for years. I haven't seen any yet.

^This^


I've blown several non re-tread tires that have turned into "alligators"(Trucker talk for that long piece of tread you're talking about), re-treads do the same thing when they blow though. Bottom line is don't drive too close to a truck no matter if you're in a car or on a bike.

 

[casacrow]

We should all know that about salesmen by now. Haha.

In my limited experience, I have had tires blow, and pulled over to deal with it. Mine have always stayed on the rim.

Im thinking drivers could be running on a flat/blown tire for some distance to rip em off.

 

[redridernl]

Retread or not, it's pretty easy to find those pieces on the shoulder of the highways every freakin day. It's a major safety hazard.

 

[casacrow]

Well I learn something new every day. I thought Alligators were just extra large lot lizards.

 

[The_Marl]

We should all know that about salesmen by now. Haha.

In my limited experience, I have had tires blow, and pulled over to deal with it. Mine have always stayed on the rim.

Im thinking drivers could be running on a flat/blown tire for some distance to rip em off.

Nope just depends on the severity of the blow out. Ive heard them pop and seen the treads flying onto the road in my mirrors. Ive had other times where I didnt even know I had a flat and the treads stayed right where they were.

 

[油井緋色]

Well I learn something new every day. I thought Alligators were just extra large lot lizards.

I thought deers were female moose.

 

[inreb]

I used to argue with guys all the time about retreads. I thought they were junk too. I was told that almost all the tire debris we see is from blown tires, not retreads. If its got metal in it, it's from a blown tire. Could still be a blown retread I guess.

Edit- I see I have 3 more in my post count than you. Don't you know on GTAM that makes everything I say true by default, and you are not to question me?

Sorry... didn't know the "default" rule... I bow to your superior knowledge bestowed upon you by your extra 3 post counts....LMAO!

Seriously... thanks for the information on retreads. I guess my lesson here is ... never trust a salesman! LOL!

Really appreciate and enjoy this type of harmless banter. Good on GTAM and all parties involved. And about the 18 wheelers, oy vey!

 

[ike]

Really appreciate and enjoy this type of harmless banter. Good on GTAM and all parties involved. And about the 18 wheelers, oy vey!

I won't argue with you... your post count is 757!!
( I agree wrt the banter comment... its lots of fun! If I keep posting stupid stuff like this, I'll be ahead of casacrow - THEN we'll see who's boss!)

 

[inreb]

I won't argue with you... your post count is 757!!

And that's only on one account. Of course, I'm semi-pro.

Forum Sponsor