Tyre Blowouts: What They Are & How To Avoid Them
A tyre blowout can be scary. But if you’re prepared and knowledgeable, you can take control of the situation.
To help you feel more confident, let’s take you through what blowouts are, how they occur, and what to do if they happen while driving on the motorway.
What is a tyre blowout?
A tyre blowout is a sudden and sometimes explosive loss of tyre pressure. There may be a bang as the air rapidly releases, and your vehicle could quickly become unstable and difficult to control. A blowout requires a fast response and is different from a slow puncture where the air releases gradually.
How does a blowout occur?
Blowouts can occur for multiple reasons. The most common are:
- Worn tyres
- Old perished tyres
- Impact
- Overinflation
- Underinflation
- Overloading your vehicle
Sometimes it might not be apparent what has caused the blowout, which is why your focus should be on prevention. Good tyre maintenance and regular inspections are your best bet at avoiding a blowout incident, so let’s take a look in more detail.
How to reduce your chance of a blowout
You can put steps in place to avoid a tyre burnout, including:
- Keeping tabs on your tyre pressure by using the machines at your local garage or a home measurer can ensure the pressure stays within the recommended range.
- Not overloading your vehicle on trips or holidays as this can put extra stress on the tyres.
- Ensuring you replace any worn tyres before they become dangerous to drive on.
Tyre blowouts on motorways
If you experience a tyre blowout on a motorway, the general advice is as follows:
- Remain calm and concentrate on the road
- Ensure a firm grip on the steering wheel and avoid turning it sharply
- Do not slam the brakes and instead ease your foot away from the accelerator, only braking once the car drops to slower speeds
- Switch on your hazard lights to alert other motorway users
- Pull over when it is safe and never stop in the middle of the road
- Exit the car if you can and stay away from the traffic
These are just general guidelines to follow, but if you take away just one point from this guidance, it’s not to panic.
Can a blowout be repaired?
A tyre blowout cannot be repaired due to the severity of the damage. Instead, the tyre will need to be replaced.
Depending on the services of your chosen breakdown company, they will either replace the tyre on the side of the road or fit a temporary tyre to give you time to drive to a garage for a permanent replacement.
Some companies will tow you to a garage, such as Mr Tyre. Here the tyre can be replaced with a high-quality product suitable for the car, and your vehicle checked over to ensure it’s safe to go back on the road.
Mr Tyre are the leading chain of autocentres for Central England, offering fully comprehensive vehicle services. This includes tyre replacements for any car, with choices from the leading manufacturers to affordable, budget friendly options. Benefit from our 50+ years of experience by getting in touch with your local branch.
