Over/Under Inflated Tires and Truck Accidents

Orlando, Florida

Trucking accidents unfold as a complex series of events as a result of a number of factors. After an accident, it is often difficult to piece together everything that went wrong, but it is vitally important to find out the causes. First, the responsible parties must be held liable for the damage they cause. Second, the causes can help lead to new safety regulations or changes in product design to make the roads safer in the future.

One of the most important components of any vehicle are the tires, they keep the vehicles on the road and out of danger. Tire failure is a fairly common cause of car and truck accidents. Over and under inflated tires can lead to catastrophic tire failure and cause tragic truck accidents.

Driver Responsibility

More than any other vehicle equipment, monitoring the wear and tear on tires is the driver's responsibility. Tires must be kept at the manufacturers specified pressures in order to ensure proper wear and long tire life. Although as the Ford/Firestone lawsuits of 2000 prove that manufacturers and auto makers may be found liable for damages, they will try to pin the fault of tire failure on the driver for not maintaining adequate tire pressure.

Tires should not be over inflated, or under inflated. In order to maintain your tires, do the following:

• Obtain a good quality tire pressure gauge
• Check the pressure on a weekly basis
• Log the results in a notebook and keep it in the vehicle
• Add air as needed

Tire Pressure and Traction

Traction is the maximum force that is produced between two surfaces. With vehicles, the surfaces are the tires and the road surface. Friction is the force that keeps trucks on the road, travelling safely. All 18 wheels need to be adequately pressurized to ensure safety. Over and under inflated tires cause the following problems.

• Over inflated tires, decrease the amount of tire surface that grips the road, making the vehicle more prone to slipping.
• Under inflated tires increase friction on the outer edges of the tire, this requires more force to move along the road, causing more heat in the process. Hot tires are more prone to blowout and catastrophic failure.
• Both over/under inflated tires increase the wear of the tire, wearing them out sooner than expected. A driver evaluating tire wear from the date of purchase may be in for a big surprise when there is a catastrophic failure leading to an accident.

Blow out can not only cause a truck to leave the roadway, jack-knife, or roll over, tire debris can result in subsequent accidents to other vehicles.

Tires are arguably the most important safety feature of a truck. Drivers are responsible for adequately maintaining them for their own safety as well as those with whom they share the road. If you were involved in a truck accident in or near Orlando, please contact a Florida truck accidents attorney at Colling Gilbert Wright & Carter to find out your legal options.