driving your car is definitely the most dangerous part of scuba

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IndigoBlue

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I was driving home last night from scuba diving, and 30 mins down the highway my right rear tire blew.

These tires are Goodyears, the most expensive if not the best. They are not supposed to blow out. I bought them less than a year ago, and even the tread still looks new.

I was lucky in that it was a rear tire, not a front tire, that blew, or else I might not be alive right now. I was also lucky it happened right by an exit ramp, and that there was a nice bright street lamp on the exit ramp right by where I got control of my car and stopped it.

I took all the scuba gear out of my trunk, and got out the spare tire and jack kit, and changed the tire in the darkness with a little help from my scuba flashlight. One more reason to always have a dive light with you !!!

I bought the tire insurance when I got these new tires less than a year ago. I plan to take the blown out tire back to the tire shop on Monday morning. It will be amusing to see the look on the face of the shop owner, when he sees this tire, totally exploded from the sidewall area of the tire, for no apparent reason.
 
Onme of the reasons I'm glad I live here on Catalina where I can walk to thye dive site with my hand cart loaded with my SCUBA and camera gear. Of course my handcart tires occasionally go flat, but I just hook up the tire inflator to my reg and re-inflate them. One of the advantages of living in a small town where you can walk everywhere.

Someone posted that SCUBA was an extreme sport... I think driving the LA freeways qualifies on a higher level!

Dr. Bill
 
You should check out the Chicago Tollways. Not too long ago, 2 cars got wedged into the same toll. Neither would yield to the other, as both tried to get there first. The cars were wedged so tightly that 2 tow trucks had to be called. And traffic was backed up for miles.
 
And the generally most dangerous action taken by traveling divers is not wearing seat belts. :shiner:

Still - I yet remember the scene of that stag deer heading for my windshield in the dark of night on the way to a DUI fieldday. Gawd, I was glad when he veered off! :scared:

I-Blue: Get an Auto Club membershjp or Wrecker Insurance, and call the wrecker next time you have a flat. You can get killed changing a flat, when another driver hits you, or when the car falls on you! I've changed bigger tires on multi-ton rigs in the dark by myself, and lived to brag, but I've lost several friends exactly that way. :frown2:

don
 
DandyDon:
And the generally most dangerous action taken by traveling divers is not wearing seat belts. :shiner:

Still - I yet remember the scene of that stag deer heading for my windshield in the dark of night on the way to a DUI fieldday. Gawd, I was glad when he veered off! :scared:

I-Blue: Get an Auto Club membershjp or Wrecker Insurance, and call the wrecker next time you have a flat. You can get killed changing a flat, when another driver hits you, or when the car falls on you! I've changed bigger tires on multi-ton rigs in the dark by myself, and lived to brag, but I've lost several friends exactly that way. :frown2:

don

I was talking to another guy at the tire store this morning who also had a tire blow out on Saturday night. He said he waited 2 hours for AAA then gave up on them, and did it himself. He hit a pothole, triggering the blowout. My own blowout seemed to be spontaneous; I heard a bang, before the tire started to go flat.

I was lucky there was an exit right there off the highway, with a nice streetlight as well. It took me about 45 mins to unload the SUV, get to the jack and T-wrench, loosen the lug nuts, block off the opposite tire, jack it up, swap tires, jack it back down, and repack all the gear.

When I did see a car coming down the exit ramp, I got up and watched it to make sure it would not run into me. DUI drivers are probably the worst problem when it comes to that hazard, of changing your own tires in the dark of night.

This is the first time I have ever had a car tire blow out. And the very first time I have ever had a tubeless tire blow. I had just purchased these tires in October, as stated on the sales slip that I gave the tire store today. I am guessing the tire was defective from the factory, but the store will have to send it in to them for a complete failure analysis.

I had a motorcycle tire blow out once before, but that tire had an innertube.
 
Buy some safety flares and triangles at your local auto parts store, carry them at all times. I'm thinking of buying an amber strobe, that plugs into the lighter outlet, to add a level of safety. You can also get reflective vests like you see highway workers wearing.

RULE #1 when a tire blows, DO NOT use your brakes!!!! Take the foot off the gas pedal and turn your turn signal on and move safely to the curb. Screw the wheel, grind it to dust if you must to be safe.

As far a wearing your seat belt.... this past Saturday, a business aquantance was killed in a one car crash because he didn't wear the seat belt. He was thrown from the vehicle. Only 29 and Tom is gone....
 
Another safety tip to keep in mind with tires is that proper pressure is important. I do believe that an under-inflated tire can generate a great deal more heat which may or may not lead to premature tire failure. Of course it also possible to just get a bad tire. It happens with all brands including grossly over priced goodyear tires.
 
Underinflated tires will reliably blow out. The problem is sidewall heat (the flexing of the sidewall as the tire rolls causes heat to be generated!) which will build up to the point that the rubber is compromised.

Once that happens, its BOOM time!
 
Kat:
You should check out the Chicago Tollways. Not too long ago, 2 cars got wedged into the same toll. Neither would yield to the other, as both tried to get there first. The cars were wedged so tightly that 2 tow trucks had to be called. And traffic was backed up for miles.
Now that's funny, which toll was this?
Hey Kat, how is the job search going??? FYI-There are a couple career fairs in Chicago next week.
 
Genesis:
Underinflated tires will reliably blow out. The problem is sidewall heat (the flexing of the sidewall as the tire rolls causes heat to be generated!) which will build up to the point that the rubber is compromised.

Once that happens, its BOOM time!

The tire store dealer said his best guess was that my car was so loaded up with scuba gear that the tire did in fact blow out due to not being completely inflated to the level of full maximum capacity.

They were going to give me a goodwill warranty refund for the tire, since it is unclear what happened, and since it is possible as well that the tire was defective.

I did remember a loud BOOM before the flat. So either tire defect or underinflation for the load could either have been a factor, or even both.

Lesson learned: keep your car tires inflated to the maximum rating when you are hauling tanks, weights, and gear.
 

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