Truck drivers often rely on tire retreads rather than new tire replacements for commercial vehicles. Retreading is one of the most common practices in the trucking industry since replacing tires for a commercial fleet every three to four years may be too expensive. Tire retreads, also called recapped or remolded tires, may cause less environmental damage because used tires aren’t dumped in a landfill. However, tire retreads can create hazardous highway conditions that may lead to accidents and potentially serious injuries. One of the most significant issues is trucking companies that purchase inferior products from manufacturers or don’t follow DOT guidelines.
Why Tire Retreads Can Become Road Hazards
Truck tires must undergo regular inspections, maintenance, rotations, and replacements when necessary. Retread tires should be replaced frequently and inspected for uneven wear, splits or cracks, or exposed metal. When a truck tire isn’t inflated properly, blowouts may occur due to the tire’s weakened structure. Underinflation or overloading the tire causes heat to build up, which may weaken the bond between the road and the tire. Before retreading, tires should always be inspected for weak areas or internal cracks. Before applying adhesive to the tire, it should be carefully checked for flaws that could cause the tire tread to peel away.
Overloading a truck with excess weight can cause strain on the tires, cause them to overheat, and lead to blowouts. Road conditions due to severe weather and driving at high rates of speed may be contributing factors. Another problem with retreads is road gators, the large strips of jagged rubber scattered along a highway. The rubber strips that may weigh up to 100 pounds and be eight feet long, get their name because they resemble the back of an alligator.
The Deadly Hazards of Road Gators
Road gator accidents occur when a driver can’t stop in time to avoid hitting a large rubber retread strip or swerves to prevent a collision. Serious implications may result from a road gator accident, including swerving and loss of control, damage to vehicles, impact from hitting debris, and serious injuries.
If a driver sees an obstruction in the road, the natural reaction is to swerve to avoid hitting it. When traveling at high speed on an interstate and attempting to avoid an accident, drivers can lose control, hit vehicles in adjacent lanes, or spin out. The consequences of losing control of the vehicle could result in hitting roadside barriers, crashing in a ditch, or rolling over. When there’s a lot of heavy traffic on a highway, and a driver has to slam on their brakes or swerve abruptly, it could trigger a chain reaction involving multiple vehicles and extensive damage.
When a driver doesn’t see a road gator until it’s in their path, there’s little time to react. Driving over the fragment of a steel-belted truck tire could cause costly damage and leave a driver stranded on the highway. A road gator could destroy the car’s undercarriage, including the frame and chassis that support the engine, the driveshaft, the exhaust system, and the suspension system. The car’s tires could blow out, causing loss of control. One of the most dangerous consequences of hitting a road gator is airborne debris that could shatter the windshield of another vehicle or hit a motorcycle, causing the driver to lose control or be thrown.
Tire Debris and Liability Claims
If you’re involved in an accident that’s caused by a road gator, it’s vital to understand your rights. You should immediately contact an experienced truck accident lawyer like the attorneys at DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC. When an accident occurs as a result of tire debris on the highway, one or more parties may be held liable for the damage. Depending on the circumstances of the accident, the trucking company and the driver could be held liable for damages and injuries.
If the trucking company ignored recommendations from their mechanic about services they specified or didn’t perform the necessary maintenance on their trucks, including tire inspections, they could be responsible for the accident. The company could also be liable if they had complaints from drivers that were ignored. Federal government regulations are in place that mandate when truck tires should be replaced. The manufacturer could be held liable if they didn’t use the proper bonding agent when retreading tires. A significant issue is vehicles with a high center of gravity, including buses, pickup trucks, SUVs, and motorhomes, that can roll over within seconds when a retread tire blows out.
Reasons to replace tires include excessive wear, over-inflated or under-inflated tires, the wrong-sized or mismatched tires, leaks, and tires that aren’t retreaded properly. One of the biggest challenges when you’re the victim of an accident is whether a road gator is the determining debris source. If there wasn’t a witness to the accident or the driver didn’t stop, investigators have methods to determine who’s at fault. Tire-retread crashes aren’t unusual and should never be the reason for catastrophic injuries or fatalities. Contact a truck accident lawyer with the experience to handle your case.
Your lawyer will inspect the retread and consult with experts to determine if faulty maintenance, insufficient bonding, or a manufacturing defect may have caused the accident. Your lawyer can review inspection logs to determine if warning signs or service checks were ignored or missed. When multiple parties are involved, the lawyer will handle compliance and insurance company issues and file a lawsuit. It’s essential to hire a lawyer with the experience to provide a positive outcome for your case.
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