What to do in the event of a tyre blowout

Instinct plays a crucial role when we are faced with emergencies. For example, if the car is swerving to the right our instinct is to abruptly turn the steering wheel to the left. If we feel the car is going out of control, our instinct is to slam on the brakes and take our foot off the accelerator. This may be and is counter-productive in terms of a blowout.

What is a blow-out?

A blowout is where all the air is immediately released from a tyre usually due to a catastrophic collapse of its integrity. There can be many reasons for such a collapse, but common ones are due to under-inflation, or damage caused by kerbing or hitting an obstacle in the road.

Common signs of a puncture while driving

• Wheel shudder – this is where you feel a shuddering effect through the steering wheel or a wobbling feeling from the car.
• Steering heavy – the car suddenly becomes difficult to steer, this is normally associated with a slow tyre deflation (slow puncture).
• Car steers to the left or right – medium tyre deflation, car feels as if it is being pulled to the left or right.
• Car violently swerves to the left or right – this is normally associated with a blowout at speed, where the tyre bursts or disintegrates on puncture.

What to do in the event of a blowout at speed

Start by maintaining a safe driving speed; there are just no two sides to this. The lower your speed, the higher your chance of survival. A blowout at 80 to 90km/h will be far less dramatic than one at 140 to 150km/h. Indeed, if you survive a tyre burst at 150km/h, consider it a gift from God. As in any emergency the key is to try to stay calm and to react in the correct manner for the circumstances in which you find yourself. Your car relies on four rather small rubber contact areas to stay on the surface of the road. When you lose a tyre, you’ve not only lost up to 25 per cent of your connection to the road.

Do not step on the brakes

Of course, this is easier said than done, as our brains are hard-wired to instinctively jam the brake pedal in an emergency. Hard braking is actually the worst thing you can do as it will further imbalance the vehicle and throw it out of control.
Sudden braking on a front punctured tyre will increase the weight and forward motion of the vehicle on to the flat tyre, or worse still, the bare wheel rim. This action will either cause the vehicle to swerve in the direction of the punctured tyre or cause the rim to dig into the tarmac which could flip the car.
In a rear tyre puncture, sudden or heavy braking will increase the drag factor and will throw the vehicle off balance, making steering difficult and is likely to make the car swerve or fishtail out of control which can result in a 360-degree spin.

Don’t abruptly take your foot off the accelerator

Do it slowly and gradually. In fact, Hi-Q Tyres recommends that you maintain accelerator input momentarily before releasing it slowly. The deceleration force from a blown tyre is so strong that your car will slow down rapidly anyway.
If you have engaged cruise control, be sure to disengage it immediately.
Grip the steering wheel with both hands and concentrate on the road ahead while looking in your mirrors to ascertain a safe escape route.
How you react in the first few seconds of a puncture is crucial. Do not take your foot off the accelerator, as rapidly releasing the accelerator causes the vehicle to transfer more of its weight from the rear tyres to the front tyres.
If you feel the car swerve, instead of taking your foot off the accelerator, tap it gently to either maintain your current speed or to even increase it slightly. We know that this is against your natural instinct but this action for the first few seconds of a blowout will help maintain or regain control of your car.

Try your best to keep the vehicle pointed straight

Cornering or turning with a blown tyre will greatly upset the car’s composure. If your car is pulling to one side, you might need to pull the steering in the opposite direction to keep it going straight. This is critical, or else you risk drifting into the road divider or worse still, the opposite lane.

Do not attempt to over-correct

The key is to maintain the vehicle’s stability. A sharp yank of the steering wheel can result in a roll-over. Even when you have gained control and are slowly moving to a safe parking spot, do so with the mildest steering inputs possible.

Allow the vehicle to gradually coast to a stop

Use engine braking if necessary. Lightly engage the brakes only when your car has decelerated to a slow speed. Use the turn indicators and pull over safely off the road. Drive on the bare metal wheel if you have to, but do not stop in the middle of the road as you run the risk of getting rear-ended by a speeding car. Remember to activate your hazard lights when you have stopped.

STAY CALM  –  STAY SAFE  –  STAY ALIVE