Back in the early 70's my brother and I were headed for the Smokies ( on one of our 3 day weekend rides ) and, just outside of Knoxville there was a semi ahead of us that blew a tire and it disintegrated, there were tire parts flying everywhere and there we were right smack dab in the middle of a "Firestone" storm ... it was pretty crazy ... luckily we dodge all the flying pieces and motored on.

 

I've been truck driving my whole adult life and don't know the answer to this one.
If you get hit by flying debris from a truck, is the driver/company liable?

 

I know that doesn't work with gravel trucks breaking windshields the way it used to. You used to be able to call the company with the license plate number when gravel fell off of their trucks and they'd have to replace it for you. I'm pretty sure they no longer have to.

 

WHOA, back that bus up! Before you start dissing retreaded tires make sure you know what your yaking about. First and foremost, the fed's and many states, along with the TRIB (Tire Retreading Information Bureau) has done a number of studies on tire failures. For your information approximately 54% of the tire debris you see on the road are from NEW tires, with the remaining from RETREADS. So before you make that assumption the only way to tell is to do an analyze of the casing, remaining tread, and any debris. I am assuming you did that? I really doubt it.

Let me give you my opinion as to why new tires are more likely to fail. First they are new, so the driver (which by the way are responsible for checking the air pressure PRIOR to driving their shift) pays less attention to them because "god damn they are new tires! They should be bullet proof!" The same driver makes sure that the retreads are aired up because, the damn company is too cheap to buy new!" Fact is this, there is a lot of debris on the highway. This truck gets a flat tire or low air pressure tire situation and stops to have it repaired. But unfortunately he has driven the last 100 miles with the low tire shifting the weight of the axle on the "good" tire creating an overheated situation. A tire run low can overheat in as few as a mile or 2 depending on the weight and speed. Unfortunatley though the damage has already been done to the partner tire and it is now susceptible to failure at any moment.

Now I not saying that this is what happened, just a possibility. There are thousands of vehicles running retreads every day without an issue. Do you want to know how many commercial airplanes are landing and taking off on retreads? Before you start to diss an industry stop and think.

 

i have been driving truck for a little over 2 years and have only had one tire blow, it scared the crap out of me and i was lucky cause the tread only split and didn't come off and lay in the middle of the interstate. i have hit them with my car and just glad haven't hit one with the bike. but i also agree on passing a truck as quickly as possible, i hate the a-holes that sit along side me.

 

What the hell are you talking about, "WHOA"???? What, are you image control police for the re-tread industry??? Did anybody say something above that hurt the re-tread's feelings? So what if 54% of them are new tires, I'd be happy do have 46% fewer retreads laying on the roads. I sure hope nobody's comments hurt the re-tread's fragile self esteem!!!

 

It would be one thing if you knew what your talking about, but all I see is your butt cheeks flapping! When you learn something about what your talking about come back on and state a fact that you can back up. Yes I work in the industry, new tires and retreads and it has been good to me. I take offense when someone attacks it when they don't have a clue!

 

Okay re-tread police, sorry I hurt your little feelings, but maybe if you would have posted your comments in a more respectful manner it would have been accepted better. And I don't give a **** if the industry has been good to you or not, the bottom line is I have my opinion on them and I don't care if you like it simply because you've got a vested interest in their marketing and sales.

 

It wasnt a big rig tire but i almost got nailed by a sidewall ring from an overloaded pickup the other day. I can just imagine the sound of a truck tire exploding with the tire debris flying around

 

It has nothing to do about my feelings, it's more or less the misinformation part about an industry you obviously know little about. At this age I'm long past worrying about someone hurting my feelings. It's also about having pride in what I do, but then again maybe you haven't figured that out either.