The saying “where the rubber meets the road” has never taken on more importance than when it comes to the safety of you and your family. When you head out in your car, SUV or truck, the age, quality and condition of your tires can make all the difference.
Much has been reported lately concerning defective tires, and tires that are sold as new, when in fact they may be years old. The Denver personal injury lawyers at Rosenthal & Heymann caution you to ensure your vehicle is riding on safe tires in an effort to avoid a potentially catastrophic accident.
Aged tires are sometimes mounted on cars after being stored in a car’s trunk as a spare for many years. In some cases, an older vehicle that is seldom driven will have tires that are well past the recommended guidelines for safe use.
But consumers of new tires need to also be concerned
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Colorado Tire Safety
If you’ve ever been tempted to repair a slow tire leak or a flat on the side of the road using an aerosol tire repair product, you may want to think twice.
There have been many well-documented cases in which the aerosol product being introduced into the deflated tire contained propane, butane or another highly flammable fuel, and a catastrophic explosion occurred.
By filling a tire with a combustible fuel source, the tire literally becomes a potential bomb that could go off at any minute. After a large number of legal cases involving exploding tires and products containing a flammable gas, many manufactures have altered their product’s ingredients.
However, some aerosol tire repair formulas are still thought to be extremely dangerous, and using them may cause an explosion emitting enough force to severely burn, maim, disfigure or even kill someone who is in close proximity
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A recent report on ABC News highlighted the dangers of riding on aged tires. A man in Toronto purchased what he was told were new tires for the family’s van. His son was later killed in an accident when the tread separated from one of the tires. Subsequent investigation reportedly determined that the “new” tires were actually 4 years old.
Older tires, after sitting on a tire retailer’s shelf or in a warehouse for extended periods, can become brittle and lose some of their elasticity, which can cause the tread to literally fall off the tire. Tire manufacturers, retailers and installers have a duty to ensure they are providing a quality product. When they don’t, and someone is seriously injured or killed, they can and should be held responsible for negligent business practices.
In September 2009, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began mandating that tire manufacturers imprint each tire’s specific manufacture date. However, most motorists have no idea how to find, much less read the cryptic code used to indicate the date. And, the Denver injury lawyers at Rosenthal & Heymann remain concerned about the lack of laws governing when a tire may no longer be sold. Several major vehicle manufacturers have indicated that they believe once a tire’s age reaches 6 years, it should not be put into service, no matter it’s physical appearance or condition.
Although the potential dangers of driving on aged tires is a relatively new topic of concern, there is evidence that indicates tire manufacturers may have been aware of the problem as far back as 1990. As of May 2008, an independent automotive research firm, Safety Research & Strategies, Inc., (SRS), had uncovered over 150 accident scenarios in which aged tires were believed to be the cause. The crashes resulted in 192 injuries and 139 fatalities. The CEO of SRS, Inc., has been quoted as saying aged tires are “like a ticking time bomb.”
Yet the NHTSA, while acknowledging that aging tires can be a potential safety hazard, has thus far refused to issue a public consumer alert on the subject.
A defective, older or exploding tire can adversely affect your life forever, or even claim the life of a loved one or family member. If you are the victim of an injury caused by a tire related accident, call the Denver personal injury attorneys at Rosenthal & Heymann today to learn more about your legal rights and to schedule a free consultation regarding your case.
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