I hope that the title of this makes you stop and read this article. I was recently at a conference and learned this. I was shocked! Could a tire installer be negligent?
I recently bought tires for my 5-year-old truck and was never told that tires expire. Also, there was no mention that I should replace my unused spare tire hanging under the truck waiting for its day to be used. I was never informed that if I use the spare tire I could be putting me and my family at risk of being involved in an auto accident.
Apparently, with age and the elements, tire rubber deteriorates over time. This makes even an unused tire a safety hazard if you have to use it. When the rubber deteriorates it makes the tread more likely to separate from the tire. If this happens the results could result in a devastating crash especially at highway speeds. According to the NHTSA’s website, approximately 24,000 vehicle accidents occur each year due to tire failure.
After doing some research, I see that most tire manufacturers recommend six years of operation, however, some say never use a tire that is ten years old regardless of its mileage or remaining tread. How can you tell how old a tire really is – well apparently it's right on the sidewall of the tire. Who knew? The DOT number on tires actually gives the manufacturer date of the tire. The last three or four digits of this number indicate the week and year of the manufacture date. If it has a three digit number it was manufactured before the year 2000 and should be replaced immediately. I checked my tires and the code is 3313 which means week 33 of 2013 which was surprising to me since I just purchased them and they are already a year old. There is no guarantee that all of your “new” tires will be the same age. Also, nothing was mention about my spare. I will take my vehicle soon to find out if the spare tire needs to be replaced.
Tire failures result in hundreds of fatal accidents and thousands of other crashes each year. This is partly because we have never been educated on the dangers of driving on older tires with good tread. With just a little education on tires, drivers can prevent many of the tire failure vehicle accidents each year.
Please inspect your tires regularly and make sure they are not past their expiration date. And remember, if you or a loved one has been injured or died in an accident from an expired tire call us at Robert John and Associates.
