Ken / Claudia
08-19-2020, 11:34 AM
I was driving my DWs car on I-84 from Boise to home in Fruitland. Speed limit is 80 mph. It was real light traffic on a long flat/straight area. I was on CC at 80 in the right lane, no other traffic ahead could be seen.
Along came a ford transet van the type that replaced the E style ford vans. It was traveling at my guess 15 to 25 mph faster than I as it approached in the left lane.
It was about 100 yards ahead still in the left lane when the vehicle braked hard, swerved into my lane. I braked hard and drove onto the shoulder, not knowing what was going on. The brake lights went off and the vehicle was still slowing and now back in the left hand and into the center shoulder. A mud flap flew off the front passenger wheel well and across the freeway going under my vehicle.
I than noticed the front passenger tire was oscillating left and right,but still inflated. The wheel was spinning true. The vehicle slowed and stopped on the shoulder. I passed and did not see further damage.
The lesson here is what to do and not what to do when you blow a tire. Hitting the brakes hard like I seen caused a loss of control. Getting off the brakes allowed the driver to control the vehicle onto shoulder.
I summed it all up to my wife, just like I have done when I had high speed blow outs. Do not brake, steer and slow down. My guess since this has happened to me on more than 1 time. The tire had an object in it. It finally was tossed out of the tire, took out the mud flap. It stayed inflated for a short time due to the heat built up inside the tire due to the high speed. In the end the driver did good. He found out the brakes were not his friend. If he had been passing another vehicle at that moment I would have witnessed a violent high speed crash that never turns out well.
Along came a ford transet van the type that replaced the E style ford vans. It was traveling at my guess 15 to 25 mph faster than I as it approached in the left lane.
It was about 100 yards ahead still in the left lane when the vehicle braked hard, swerved into my lane. I braked hard and drove onto the shoulder, not knowing what was going on. The brake lights went off and the vehicle was still slowing and now back in the left hand and into the center shoulder. A mud flap flew off the front passenger wheel well and across the freeway going under my vehicle.
I than noticed the front passenger tire was oscillating left and right,but still inflated. The wheel was spinning true. The vehicle slowed and stopped on the shoulder. I passed and did not see further damage.
The lesson here is what to do and not what to do when you blow a tire. Hitting the brakes hard like I seen caused a loss of control. Getting off the brakes allowed the driver to control the vehicle onto shoulder.
I summed it all up to my wife, just like I have done when I had high speed blow outs. Do not brake, steer and slow down. My guess since this has happened to me on more than 1 time. The tire had an object in it. It finally was tossed out of the tire, took out the mud flap. It stayed inflated for a short time due to the heat built up inside the tire due to the high speed. In the end the driver did good. He found out the brakes were not his friend. If he had been passing another vehicle at that moment I would have witnessed a violent high speed crash that never turns out well.