RV Blows Tire Causing Roll-Over Video

That's a given,....that we do NOT know anything about WHY the driver failed to control the situation. And, many would say it could happen to anyone. And YES, luck played a part in this accident.
BUT, some of us are discussing this accident in the context of trying to learn anything that might help us successfully deal with this type of event. We're being selfish about it in order to have a better chance of saving life and property. Otherwise, why bother?

It's the first time I have seen this video as well so I will post away as if what I have to say is worth a damn.

He did appear to be going too fast but...

You will notice the turn signal activates one time at just about the exact moment when the tire blew. One hand on the wheel and a tire blowout on a heavy coach traveling fast could easily pull the wheel out of that one had I imagine. It also could certainly throw the brain off since he was probably looking out of his passenger side mirror and thinking about clearances. He or she could also have reduced reaction times due to age. I know I do not have the reflexes I had 20 years ago. I think that the blowout almost could not have occurred at a worse time.

mike brez wrote:

dubdub07 wrote:

Effy wrote:

dubdub07 wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:

mike brez wrote:

dubdub07 wrote:

bigred1cav wrote:
looks like speed was a major factor

Disagree.

It shure didn't help.
The truck was doing 66 mph when he got passed by the rv. I'm no expert but at the rate he passed the truck my guess he was traveling in the high 70s.

Simple to see. Would he have lost control at 20MPH? 30? 40? 50? 60?
Obviously excessive speed caused him to lose control. It is just unclear how much speed it took to exceed this drivers ability to cope with a flat tire. Front blow outs happen and very very few end up like this. This particular driver could not handle it even if he was going less than the posted speed limit.

I fail to see how 20-45 MPH can come into the fray on this one. Minimum speed is 45 MPH. We are probably not going to drive 45 MPH and since we choose to keep our speeds up (most in the MH forum regularly post their speeds as 60-75), logic has it that at speeds of 60-75 MHP the driver would still have lost control. The only thing that speed had a factor in was how far the wreckage continued to skid across the interstate.

Define "excessive". Is it a "going too fast for conditions" thing or a quantified measure of speed? 60, 70, 80 MPH??

WW

I can tell you this. There is a BIG difference in handling and comfort level in my RV between 60 and 70. BIG difference. I can't imagine 80. My RV won't even go 80. I think it was a contributing factor as to how it handled after a blowout. 10 MPH is a lot more than you think when trying to control a vehicle as large an RV.

I can tell you my MH really acts no different at 55, 65, or 75. There are times I have been 80 or above to pass a truck that was getting his momentum up for a hill and I didn't want to be behind him when we was slowed to 20. Several times I have looked down and seen as high as 85. Other than the gasp I let out from looking, there is no real difference.

Since his was a pusher as well, I assume he had the same experience as I because he was very confident in his passing of the 18-wheeler.

The video shows his coach listing dramatically to the left, an action he allowed and probably was caught off guard. Natural crown of the road is to the left in the left lane, so I am sure his coach just went that way; with the left blown tire, that was all she wrote.

Opinion only.

WW

Yea mine acts no different at 200 mph but when $hit happens it happens real quick not like when I'm going 20 mph.

This is abrasive and adds zero to this thread. You cannot drive 20 on an interstate nor can you drive 200.

Lt46 wrote:
BTW, I had previously watched the Michelin video and logged it into my memory banks. It worked for me.

And that is the purpose of the video....to imbed it in to your brain so it becomes instinctive if a blow out happens.
No one has ever given any convincing evidence that hitting the gas will do harm. They all just say that it doesn't make sense to them.
It doesn't have to make sense if it works. You can worry about what makes sense after you are safely off the side of the road waiting to get your tire changed.

I posted this early last month when I experienced a LF blowout. BTW, I had previously watched the Michelin video and logged it into my memory banks. It worked for me.

"In my case, as soon as the tire popped there was a tug to the left, I floored it and was able to continue in my lane without actually crossing into the left lane. Once I was comfortable with how I was tracking I let off the gas and made my way to the breakdown lane. I am convinced full throttle is the answer for maintaining control and it is used just long enough to regain complete control of the coach."

What I didn't say in my post (on IRV2) was that I countered the pull to the left with steering input in the opposite direction, not a wild turn of the wheel, but enough of an input to maintain straight-ahead travel. For the record, this blowout occurred @ 63 mph, the speed I typically cruise at.
Cloud D offered a great explanation of the physics & mechanicals involved in the theory but when this happened to me, none of that info would've helped. Instant and correct reaction saved my bacon.

Bucky,
This dude that rolled over. He's a member of the group of drivers who do NOTHING. There's no hint of him ever turning the steering wheel at all. YES, there's lots of drivers like him. Whereas the other group has members who believe in original research, and evolution (as a result).
Also, the weight transfer occurred the instant that blown out tire became shorter than the other tires. PLUS, the first and most important step is the turning of the steering wheel, which in my case begins when I hear the initial BOOM and sense the start of the adverse yaw,......about 2 seconds.

Cloud Dancer wrote:
Once again, the reason that the instructor in the Michelin Video does not explain the reason for stepping on the accelerator, is simply because the explanation consists of several parts, and would probably end up maxing out the attention span of most viewers. But, I'll keep trying to convince you that the laws of science apply in all phases of the instructional Michelin Video.
I'll start by saying that the Michelin Video is directed at those drivers who can keep their wits about them (do not panic), and can call on their intuitive and cognitive abilities which are honed by their driving experiences.
So, if you do NOT react immediately, and turn the steering wheel in the direction AWAY from the pull caused by the blown-out tire,.....well, you've got a lot of catching up to do.
Here's where it gets more involved. If you don't understand the design of the differential in the rear axle of your motorhome, and if you don't understand the effect of gravity on your motorhome and how gravity explains why there is a weight shift from the corner of a blown out tire TO two(2) other corners (RF & LR) WHICH BTW are supported by inflated tires,.........well, you just won't be able to understand all the reasons why you should step on the power pedal of the motorhome.
So, I'll say this: ONE reason you should step on the power pedal (at the same time you're steering away from the side of the blown tire) is because you also want ALL the possible help of the POWER STEERING feature of your motorhome. NOW, if you instinctively step on the brake, it disengages the cruise control, which slows down the engine-driven power steering pump. (stepping on the brake also has other unwanted consequences)
Back to the differential in the rear axle: The weight shift due to the blown-out tire (recall that it can NO LONGER support the same share of its previously assigned weight), this weight shift means that in this case more weight is now on the right-front tire and more weight is now on the left-rear DRIVE tires! BOTH, of which can help the situation, SPECIALLY if you step on the power pedal. Yes, the left-rear drive tires, at this point, will have more traction than the right-rear drive tires. There's three reasons for this: the design of the differential, the aforementioned weight shift, PLUS the weight shift due to the crown in the road. Obviously, more left rear thrust will certainly help in countering the dangerous pull towards the side of the blown tire. STEP ON THE GAS, it might save the day.

There's more to be said about all this, there always is.....:B

The entire concept dismisses practicality completely. Watch the video in question. From the time that the tire blows to when that dude is off the paved surface takes how long? Ok. Now if you add the time from when the tire blows to when it registers with the driver, and the time it takes to react to it, to when the throttle goes down, to when actual additional power is provided....how long is that? By the time you add these times together, even if you are on the road, the vehicle has slowed to some extent, and the period when the weight transfer would help is gone. When you watch the dudes in the Michelin video, understand that he KNOWS what is coming and WHEN it is coming. Maybe under those conditions a person could pour the coals to it quick enough.

As soon as a vehicle starts going in a direction you do not want, most people will steer automatically in the opposite direction. That is what keeps us all in our lane when in normal or windy conditions. Wind gusts hit us when we least expect it but most people do not lose control, they steer into the wind and keep things going straight.
Did the guy in the video end up in the ditch when he hit the accelerator? Did he swerve 1' or 4' before he had everything under control? Would he have ended up in the ditch or in to the vehicle next to him?
Being prepared for a blow out is what people learn by going over the proper procedure in their mind until it becomes something they can do instinctively while remaining calm.

rgatijnet1 wrote:

Counter steering is almost instinctive so most people will do that

There are many, many people out there that is NOT instinctive to. Even the people who instinctively do that, have to do it just right. While doing all that and remembering to also hit the accelerator isn't going to happen often.

By the way, I understand the benefit of the force vectoring that hitting the accelerator provides. As others have pointed out, if you hit the accelerator, the transmission will shift down and that takes enough time that you will be in the ditch anyway.

The best that one can expect is to have the CC on and hope that keeps the thrust vectors from getting worse. Meantime, concentrate on counter steering--------------not too much and not too little. Once things have settled down, then touch the brakes just enough to release the CC and let things coast down while you continue to steer as necessary.

As far as TPMS.. I'm sure it's useful on the motorhome it's self, no doubt. I had just serviced my tires when my blowout happened and it went from 80PSI to a grenade going off in the wheel well. A TPMS would not have helped me at all in that situation. In the back of my mind I'm always ready for an exploding tire. I can tell you there's not much in life that sucks more than those few seconds after a motohome tire blows. It will get your priorities straight in a hurry.