Class A Tire Blow and Roll-over

It's good for all of us to freshen our minds on what to do when a blowout occurs.

It makes no difference regarding speed, age, health, skill or whatever you chose to blame the driver for...a blowout needs to be handled properly in a RV or in a car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkwOE1yKY5c

Road barriers, just like cars frame need to be engineered.
I live close to a point where 4-lanes, 45 mph divided highway merge into 2-lane 30 mph curvy road.
At the end of the merge, before the road turns engineers put steel barrier on wood posts.
Those are 6x10 posts, so pretty strong, but the way whole thing is engineered, first couple of posts have big holes drilled at ground level, so easy to shear, while the metal rail has cable that holds the end from rolling up.
Every few years the rail gets shear off. Couple years ago it was elderly driver of pickup, this spring drunk driver of Mitsubishi sport car.
He managed to shear off 14 of those wood posts.
I went there the morning after accidents. The wreck was cleared, but still about 10,000 small pieces covered the area. I could see chunks of headlights 25 feet from chunks of radiator.
We have been pretty sure the accident was fatal, but later found out that driver walk away with minor scratches.
Well design barrier and car airbags really work.

ferndaleflyer wrote:
Sister in law hit one of those metal guard rails several years ago with a car and the rail went straight into the front of the car all the way into the trunk. It went through the front and back passenger side seats and a baby seat (empty at the time)in the back seat......I don't like either kind

I hear you on that.

I see alot of the wood/metal barriers that start and end abruptly, such that a car could easily hit the end if it and be badly damaged and result in death.

Those barriers are supposed to be curved away from the direction of traffic at each end, such that a car will hit the barrier at an angle, glancing it and then sliding along it, instead of running head-on into the end of it.

Poor execution of a good idea is just as bad as a bad idea.

lakebum wrote:
I wonder what a slower speed in this instance would have had on the final outcome? I wonder if 10 mph less, 20 mph less would have even made a difference?

For me, and not so much for safety, I drive about 5 -1 0 mph less than the posted limited on the interstate when on the Coach. I like to set my cruise control and just drive. At those speeds I typically do not run up on any traffic and everyone passes me. I get better fuel milage and just not in a hurry....

If, immediately after a blowout, the driver fails to use the onboard mechanical and hydraulic advantage in order to maintain control of his vehicle, then plus or minus 10 mph from speed limit will NOT matter,....he's going to end up in the grass, either way. At either speed, once you are on the grass, you might as well be a passenger.

427435 wrote:
The short of it is that he was going too fast for his skill level and didn't counter steer correctly and quickly enough.

I blew a LF tire a couple of years ago doing 65. Kept it in my lane (barely) and brought it to a safe stop on the side of the interstate.

I'm glad to know it can be done.

Kayteg1 wrote:
It keeps amazing me how "old farts" will keep on selling their agendas regardless posted facts. ...

Other than that being a derogatory comment not needed on this forum. :R

You have NO idea how old a forum member is. Nor would it make any difference.

I wonder what a slower speed in this instance would have had on the final outcome? I wonder if 10 mph less, 20 mph less would have even made a difference?

For me, and not so much for safety, I drive about 5 -1 0 mph less than the posted limited on the interstate when on the Coach. I like to set my cruise control and just drive. At those speeds I typically do not run up on any traffic and everyone passes me. I get better fuel milage and just not in a hurry....

rgatijnet1 wrote:
In Florida they used to have a catch all violation that they used with some accidents. It was "driving too fast for conditions". They would use this violation even if you weren't exceeding the speed limit but the current conditions made whatever speed you were traveling unsafe. To them it was obviously unsafe because you had an accident. Maybe they were right and that would be difficult to argue in court. In any case, it would apply to this situation since the coach was going too fast to be controlled in case of a tire failure.

A tire failure was not one of the issues normally considered when citing someone for "too fast for conditions." The conditions normally considered were traffic, weather such as rain, wind, snow. Also construction areas, curves in the roadway and other things that a driver can see and vary his/her speed to drive prudently. Something unanticipated like a blown tire, rear axle falling off or other things of this nature. So in this case that charge would not be written by cop that knows what he/she was doing.

What can we, as participants in RV Forums, do to convince the highway safety engineers that they should insist on more expensive, safer center-medium barriers?
What can we, as participants in RV Forums, do to convince the drivers of big motorhomes that in event of a blown front tire, or running over debris, the first step to take is extremely important (the most important)?
And, which one do we have a better chance of accomplishing, on these forums?

Sister in law hit one of those metal guard rails several years ago with a car and the rail went straight into the front of the car all the way into the trunk. It went through the front and back passenger side seats and a baby seat (empty at the time)in the back seat......I don't like either kind