What to do if a tire blows out

Accidents that occur on the roadways are unpredictable and can be caused by just about anything. Impaired or distracted motorists might heighten the risk of an accident, but even things like a squirrel running across the street and scaring a driver can lead to an accident.

Tire blowout is another potential cause of accident, and such blowouts might be more common than motorists expect. For instance, a 2005 study from the French National Institute for Transport and Safety Research found that, between 1996 and 2002, nearly 61,000 vehicles were involved in crashes with property damage and/or injury on a particular stretch of highway. More than six percent of those accidents involved tire blowout, a problem many motorists might mistake as something that only happens in movies.

But tire blowout can put motorists in a precarious position, especially if they don't know what to do should one of their tires blow out. Surviving tire blowout can be done by adhering to the following tips.

* Don't respond by hitting the brakes. It might be counterintuitive to squeeze the gas pedal when a tire blows out, but doing so puts drivers in control of the vehicle and keeps it going in the intended direction. Immediately slamming on the brakes will cause the vehicle to turn, possibly turning the vehicle into oncoming traffic, a guardrail or other cars traveling in the same direction. When squeezing the gas pedal, drive straight down the lane. Within seconds of pressing the gas pedal, slowly begin to release it.

* Coast to a slower speed. As the accelerator is released, allow the vehicle to coast to a slow speed, but not a speed so slow as to put driver and passengers at risk. Once the car is coasting between 25 to 30 miles per hour, use the turn signal and slowly turn toward the side of the road where the tire is blown. For example, if the front right tire is blown, turn toward the right shoulder. You want to turn toward this side because it's always safest to limit your own exposure to oncoming motorists when changing the tire.

* Check tire pressure when you can pull into a parking lot. When you have safely made it to the shoulder and the tire has been changed successfully, find a filling station or other parking lot and check the tire pressure on the tires that did not blowout. A blowout is often the result of an underinflated tire, so if one tire blows out due to underinflation it's quite possible the others might as well.