Have you ever had this Morbid Moment?
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Tire Decapitation
Are you ever driving down a major highway and a tractor trailer drives up next to you and you become really nervous? I know I become worried not because one wrong turn and they can squish me like a bug but rather one bad tire blow out and they can decapitate me. C’mon people think about it. That tire can blow out and the shrapnel from it can fly through your window and decapitate you; it was even proven on Mythbusters! It could happen! That is why I try to get away from the tractor trailer as soon as possible.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
this fear you received from your father always saying don't ride next to a tractor trailer because it could blow a tire and kill you.
ReplyDeleteBut this is a healthy fear, they even proved it on Mythbusters so Dad was right! You have it too, just admit it!
ReplyDelete(1) A truck driver I met saw this happen when he was in his own private car, off duty. Somebody else's truck had a tire blow, and the tread flew through the air like a loose guillotine blade-- truck tires are at about 90-100 pounds per square inch. The tread penetrated the windshield of the car in front, and the driver's head ended up on the back shelf (under the rear window) next to a box of Kleenex.
ReplyDelete(2) I saw a video about 2005 of a 2x4 that fell off a truck, then cartwheeled upon the pavement in the wind. 5-10 seconds later, it pole-vaulted itself through the windshield of a following station wagon, but fortunately missed hitting any driver or passengers.
(3) About 2005 in Iowa (Johnson or Iowa County) on Interstate 80, a doghouse blew off a flatbed when the wind shapped the chains or ropes. The doghouse flew through the passenger window and killed a baby inside an adjacent car.
(4) A friend on the freeway just got past a flatbed when its load shifted, and tons and tons of metal dumped onto the road just in back of where my friend was at that instant. If he had been about 2 seconds behind where he got to, he would have been crushed like a bug.
(5) Firestone tires are notorious, even in passenger cars, for blowing up unexpectedly on the road and throwing people into catastrophic spin-outs. Another friend foolishly sent the evidence of a blown tire into Firestone for testing. They just destroyed the proof to protect themselves from being sued.
(6) Trucks and cars are a lot of mass and a lot of energy that can go out of control in an instant. To avoid winning the Darwin Award, stay well away from any truck or car that can suddenly spaz out on you. Drivers can suddenly have a heart attack or stroke and cause problems that way also.