In November this Montana personal injury law blog introduced the topic of tire blowouts as a cause of vehicle accidents. A tire blowout can cause a driver to lose control of his automobile and the results of these incidents can be deadly. This blog post will look into one of the main causes of tire blowouts: deficient tire treads.
Every tire has treads and treads refer to the grooves that exist on the surface of the tires. Treads help tires grip the road below them by funneling water and other debris away from the tires' surfaces and keeping the rubber in contact with the pavement. When a tire is new its treads should be of a sufficient depth to prevent a loss of contact with the road.
However, over time a vehicle's tire treads wear down. The depth of the tread reduces as the surface of the tire wears away, leaving less and less space from the surface of the tire to the deepest part of the tread. When tires' treads wear away the surface of the tires become smooth. This phenomenon is also known as a bald tire.
A bald tire is a dangerous tire. The tire is thinner than it should be and can blowout if it hits something sharp or strong enough to pop it. A bald tire is also a slippery tire and one that will not grip the road when its vehicle is traveling on wet or slushy surfaces.
Readers of this blog post are encouraged to investigate the depth of the treads on their own cars to determine if they are safe. They are also encouraged to consider all relevant factors, from weather conditions to tire treads, when they are the victims of car accidents. Tire blowouts are a dangerous but common occurrence and tire tread wear can be a cause of these occurrences.