Car owners are used to car parts getting old and needing replacement. However, tire aging is not necessarily a well understood auto condition. That’s because people either replace their tires when they go flat or when the tread life expires. However, what happens when a car owner buys tires and ends up with “new” tires that actually have been on the shelf for quite a while? A number of risks can occur with aging tires that tire shops don’t necessarily advertise with their product.
Tire aging is a process of structural degradation in a tire over time. Tires are made of steel radial and rubber molded together. However, time can cause separation of rubber layers as the rubber starts to dry out. Cracking and layer separation begin, even a miniscule level. Add in heat, road wear, sunlight and time when the tires are on the car, and the process accelerates. Warmer climate areas will see this process happen faster than colder climates. Ironically, keeping a car in the garage and not using it often can also contribute to faster tire breakdown as well. So, bottom line, an aging tire is a bad thing both ways.
As mentioned before, a good tire will lose tire tread long before it ages past viable use when the car is used regularly. The problem is in tires that have been on the shelf too long before being installed. It can also be a problem on vehicles that are used infrequently, like recreational cars or vintage restorations that see little road action.
To complicate matters, aging tires are not easily identified, as many auto accident attorney Gainesville offices have discovered. Despite what some tire shops might say, there’s no set standard or tool out there that says whether a tire is still good, like a battery tester. Further, a visual inspection often won’t see the initial weakening that occurs, under layers of rubber. However, tires do come with identification numbers required on the sidewall surface. Those digits include a date stamp when the tire was produced. General recommendations note that tires should be replaced with new ones six years after manufacture date. Ten years is the outside maximum for basic safety reasons.
Keep in mind, age is not the only reason a tire can fail. Bad manufacturing processes can contribute to structural separation. Incorrect installation, poor driving maintenance, a lack of regular tire rotation, and road risks can all contribute as well. Tire aging simply gives all these other things a head start.
The ramifications are real. Tire aging failures contribute to over 11,000 accidents a year where the vehicle has to be towed away afterwards. It can also trigger injuries and even death.
Bagen Law has been in the business of representing accident victims as a result of poor tire manufacturing and servicing. Servicing the Florida areas of Ocala, Gainesville and related regions, Bagen Law takes on car accident cases frequently caused by product failure, including aging tires. We also represent clients in motorcycle collisions and accidents, truck accidents, and drunk driving incidents. Because of the depth of experience our attorneys have in these matters are more, our clients realize some of the best legal representation available in the area.
So if you're wondering if a recent car accident you had or someone you know did, and it involved a tire blowout of some sort, give our law offices a call. We can identify quickly whether a given accident has the signs of the tire aging or related mechanical failure. And if so, we can advise on the representation an affected party is entitled to under Florida state law. Contact us as an auto accident attorney Gainesville office to find out more.
