If you have ever had a tire blowout on the road before, you understand how scary it can be. This can happen anywhere, from driving down a residential street to going 60mph on the freeway. The following information helps you identify a tire blowout immediately and provides tips for handling the blowout while remaining safe.
Common Signs of a Tire Blowout
Before you start learning how to handle a tire blowout, you need to know the signs of having one. While it may seem very obvious you are dealing with a tire that has blown while you are driving, the signs are sometimes subtle when it first occurs. Generally, you will first feel as if your vehicle has suddenly slowed down, and stepping on the gas doesn't make any sort of different. You might also feel like the car is uneven or that it is pulling strongly to one side or the other. When you experience these things, you need to act fast.
Maintain Control of the Vehicle
When you start to feel your car pulling to one side or the other, you need to gain control over your vehicle as quickly as possible. This will help you to avoid a collision if you are on the freeway, or avoid damage to someone's property if you are on a residential street. To start getting control of your vehicle, ignore the gas and brake pedal at first. Instead, grab the steering wheel and start steering in the opposite direction of the way the car is pulling you. Once you have control, you can gradually move your car over to the side of the road and step on the brakes to stop.
Gradually Move to a Safe Location
Now that you have better control over your vehicle, you can start moving it to a safer location. If you are on a busy highway, you might be able to get off the exit if your tire has blown. The main concern here should be that you can get to the shoulder of the freeway. If you are in the middle or left lane, you need to throw on your hazard lights, slow down your vehicle, and try to move over when it is safe. Hopefully others notice your situation and either speed up or slow down to let you pass to another lane. If you have to, pull over in the left lane. This is definitely not ideal, but in a traffic situation, you might not be able to safely cross multiple lanes of traffic. You are lucky if you are on a residential street, because there are more places to pull over, not to mention the fact that your car is already going slower so it is easier to stop safely.
Make sure when your tire blows out, you don't make the mistake of stepping on the brake. This won't necessarily cause your vehicle to stop, and it could actually make matters worse. Put on your hazards and take your time when attempting to slow down your vehicle. For assistance, call a mobile mechanic like Immortal Auto Moto.
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