Rethink the Retread

[Hagrid]

It was a dark and sticky night. We were traveling northward on I-35 having just witnessed the Round Rock Express yield to El Passo's ball club at the Dell Diamond.

Encased within the confines of our SUV we approached 2 bikes riding in a standard but below speed limit stagard formation. A large tractor trailer
passed us in the left lane.

We prepared to pass the bikes and assumed a position in the left lane when suddenly rubber showered our path. The bikes were near our rear and I dared not swerve for thier immediate safety. We plowed through disintegrating rubber wincing as it smacked the metal componants beneath the vehicle.

Fortunately the bikes received only a smattering of the tires shower in their right lane and remained on course.

These guys would have been toast in the left lane.

Seems to me if DOD should focus a little attention on the safety of truck retreads and make their use illegal. What thinks thou.

 

[buck000]

Well, my first thought is "{deity} bless you" for shielding the riders behind you...!

Big rigs scare the shiznit out of me. Making retreads illegal is a good idea, but prolly a long shot...

 

[Tourmeister]

Howdy,

I have had some reallll close calls with this crap as well. It really burns me that the DOT allows this nonsense. Driving between Houston and Huntsville on I-45, the road is absolutely littered with the remains of these tires. Many of the carcasses are large enough to do serious damage to cars and trucks, not just bikers. The current problem is that there is no way to go after anyone unless you actually see the tire come apart before it trashes your vehicle. I've been near one of the tires when it blows and it scared the crap out of me. I was in the car on the opposite side of the concrete divider on the freeway and it sounded like a bomb going off. Thank God we were not on the bikes or anywhere near it!

Personally, I think this is another example of money trumping safety. You can bet the trucking companies want to keep using these tires as they are cheap. Also, they aren't to worried about liability because it is near impossible to track the remains of the tires back to a specific company. So I am sure they have a well financed lobbying effort in place to maintain the status quo. I could be totally wrong, would not be the first time. Maybe it is just the cynic in me

 

[Akro]

Those things should be outlawed. Just the other day on I-45 a car in from of me hit a big chunk of tire debris and it came flying out from under the preceding car and hit the front of my car before I could even try to swerve. If I had been on my bike it would have been bad news. It seems to me that I am seeing more of that stuff on the highways than I used to.

 

[FLUFdriver]

The problem may lay more on the shoulders of the truck drivers for not replacing their tires when they are worn (or exceeding the weight and speed limits....etc) or maybe its just some shoddy work by unscrupulous retread shops. :angryfir:

All of the airlines use retreads on their aircraft and I've never seen a tire come apart like that. ( those things are certified up to 195mph) And we even use Bridgestones.

I don't know, I could be comparing apples to oranges but I know that retreads can be done right and are safe if they are used properly.
Either way something needs to be done. :|

As long as were talkin' about trucks, what about those lazy bastages that don't take the time to sweep the trailer bed after a job? Getting pelted by rocks and dirt coming off a flatbed has got to be one of my favorite things. :angryfir: Especially on the RST, the paint chips if you just look at it funny.

 

[irondawg]

Two years ago while riding out to N. Carolina for a TSRA rallye on 1-40 at night just east of Memphis I hit a piece of that crap. Broke my left footpeg off.

These things are WAY more dangerous at night cause you can barely see the **** things. They should be all outlawed.

 

[Akro]

I think FLUFdriver is right. There is probably a safe way to operate those retreads. Whatever - there is too much of that stuff on the raods.

 

[C V Man]

It's not the tires that are to blame.

Let's see...
Trucks almost always drive faster than the speed limit.
If you see one at a light... ...it's surely got 3 or 4 tires that need to be replaced. Just take a peek.
The truck loses very little load capacity when one blows out, so surely the drivers have a lackadaisical attitude toward changing them.
So they change them at the last minute or slightly afterwards and only WE pay the consequences.

But is that truely the case?
Sometimes it appears as though the tire that blows out was a reject from a childhood playground. Remember playing on old tires at school?
What fun!
If the tires on those trucks were as nice as our playground equipment was... ...the world would be a much safer place to ride.

Maybe THAT'S it! Since the school systems no longer purchase old tires to be used as playground equipment, the drivers just "drive'em 'til they blow", as there is no incentive to save the tire.

See? It's all about finding the root cause.

C V Man