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Blown Tire Alert
We’re on day three of our trip from California to Foley. We were approx. a 1/2 mile behind a big rig when all of a sudden a massive dust and dirt cloud came from the rig as he went to the side of the road. Immediately slowed down. Rig had lost his front right steer tire and had taken out about 500 feet of guard rail. Trucker was stunned but fine. Pieces of tire all over the road.
1. Please review You Tube of how to handle blown tire situation.
2. Maintain distance behind all vehicles.Any other suggestions? Very Very scary to personally see this happen.
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11 Replies
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Your second suggestion is the key. However even when a safe distance behind the vehicle ahead we still have to be spring loaded to do something. We have had truck tire treads peel off, changed lanes to avoid the tread, only to have a car that was ahead of us, not paying attention hit it and throw it into our lane.
They really are out to get us.
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Rick,
Posting the video of what NOT.. to do when a PC member has a blow out or sudden loss of air has been posted every month for nearly 2 years.
I watch it every month and if it ever happens to me I know which pedal to push. Thanks for your post and referance the U tube video.
AL
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Lady Antebellum tour bus tire catches fire
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Would tire pressure monitors have saved this coach?
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I bet it was the bearings that failed and started fire then tire failed , money on bearings causing fire not a tire blowout
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Could be either bearings or else an inside dual that was already flat, causing the other tire to run hot and blow out. I have seen it on trucks several times, but they usually don’t start on fire causing this much damage. However, on a truck, there is generally much better cooling as they are not as tightly surrounded by body cladding like on our coaches. Either way, a big mess!
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Dragging brake?
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Could be a brake…maybe a chamber leaking and the spring brake partially applied. I have seen that happen too.
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I agree brake chamber or dragging brake or inside dual Guys
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Failure of hub lubrication has caused devastating bus fires, the most tragic of which occurred during evacuation of elderly and disabled folks in advance of hurricane Rita in 2005. Twenty-three passengers were killed. After that accident the modern fire suppression systems were mandated in buses, as were changes to protect the passenger comparment from fires originating in the wheel wells.
Here’s the address for the NTSB report. You may need to paste this to your browser, or google NTSB hurricane Rita bus accident report. Read this and I guarantee you will pay close attention to your hub lube.
http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/accidentreports/reports/HAR0701.pdf
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Hub lubrication is far more critical that most realize. I know of two coach owners that literally spun the end off the drive axle housing when bearings seized due to lack of lubrication. One is still a participant on these forums.
Because we have hub caps it just is not practical do include checking hub fluid levels on a pre-trip inspection, however at a rest area if a IR temperature gun is used you can measure the temps of both the tires and the hubs to quickly get an indication if all hub bearings have adequate lube. You are not looking for a specific temperature, but you are looking for consistent temps on the wheels as close to the hub as possible. A one minute walk around not only helps stretch your legs, but it reveals potential problems iand is well worth the habit.
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