How to handle a high speed tyre blowout

Even with proper tyre maintenance things can go wrong, such as hitting a pothole or a sharp object, leading to a tyre blowout that can be a serious safety hazard.

Tyre blowouts are estimated to cause more than 400 fatalities, more than 10,000 injuries and about 78,000 crashes every year, according to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“If a blowout occurs at high speeds it can be particularly alarming. The sudden loss of pressure makes it easy to lose control and at high speeds the chances of this are greater,” says Eugene Herbert, CEO of the MasterDrive driver training school.

Should this happen while driving faster than 100km/h, MasterDrive offers these tips to handle the situation as safely as possible:

• stay calm;
• hold the steering wheel firmly;
• do not slam on the brakes as this can cause the vehicle to spin out of control;
• focus on keeping the vehicle straight. The vehicle will likely steer and possibly even veer in the direction of the blowout which you should try counter by focusing on keeping the steering pointing straight ahead. It might be tempting to yank the steering wheel in the opposite direction but avoid overcorrecting;  
• gradually and carefully slow down by easing off the accelerator — the deceleration caused by the burst tyre will slow the vehicle more rapidly;
• if your car has a manual transmission change to a lower gear, but only if you have full control of the vehicle. In automatic transmissions remain in Drive;
• when the vehicle slows to 50km/h, start braking gradually and coast to a stop; and
• when safely off the road, switch on your emergency lights.

“Before you leave for your trip, double-check you have everything necessary to change a tyre,” says Herbert.

“This includes a spare in good condition and check the air pressure. If you have a doughnut spare or run flats remember to not exceed their limitations. This includes not driving more than certain speeds or distances.”