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As the holiday season approaches, I decided to focus on this topic because I have observed widespread ignorance about tyres by most Nigerians, regardless of social class. Vulcanisers and drivers are the most ignorant. Before you know it, they will over-inflate your tyre. They tell you that the more the air pressure in the tyres, the easier it is for them to turn the steering.
A more specific reason for focusing on tyres derives from several tyre-related accidents that I have witnessed or read about in the last few years. Readers will recall, for example, the tyre accident involving former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in October 2015. Here is how it was described in a press statement issued about the incident: “The vehicle he was travelling in suffered a burst left tyre at the rear and swerved several times but did not hit any curb or any car in front or behind until it did an 180-degree turn and faced where it was coming from, and he had to change vehicles” (Sahara Reporters, October 25, 2016).
However, then Minister of State for Labour and Employment, James Ocholi, and his family were not that lucky, when they were involved in a similar accident, involving a rear tyre blowout. Rather, according to Francis Udoma, the Kaduna State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, “The rear tyre burst and the vehicle somersaulted into the bush. The minister and his son died on the spot, the wife died in the government hospital at Doka, Kaduna” (Vanguard, March 7, 2016).
A similar fate would befall six doctors from Ekiti State and the bus driver on their way to Sokoto to attend a conference. Again, the cause was a rear tyre blowout. According to a report in The PUNCH (April 26, 2016), “The impact … set the vehicle on a ghastly somersault, killing the six medical doctors and the driver while others were injured”.
Eight students from two separate secondary schools in Kano shared the same fate with the doctors in a similar situation. Reporting the incident on May 5, 2016, Daily Trust put it this way: “Daily Trust gathered that one of the tyres of the bus that was carrying 12 students burst and the driver lost control, resulting in the death of nine persons, including the driver.”
One road accident that I witnessed, which gave me periodic nightmares for quite some time, also involved a tyre blowout. It occurred on the Ilesa-Akure Road and involved a commercial bus. The driver overtook us on the road; but moments later, the bus skidded off the road after running into a bump, which immediately took out the front tyre on the passenger side. It somersaulted several times before finally resting on its back. By the time we got there, many lifeless passengers had been mangled with the carcass of the bus.
It is against the above backgrounds that four features must be noted about tyres. First, note that tyres are like medication. They have a shelf life. That is, they expire at a given date. Unlike wine, tyres do not improve with age. Whether they are attached to a vehicle or kept in storage, tyres do degrade over time. Even if you buy a new tyre today, it may be just a few months to expiration, if the date of manufacture was like four or more years ago. The important point to bear in mind here is that tyres do age, whether used or not. This is the more reason you should never install any previously used tyre on your car.
Second, numerous factors affect the condition and lifespan of tyres. When I visited a Michelin tyre dealership in the United States two weeks ago, I was given a long list of factors, divided into six categories, namely, (1) physical factors (age, wear, and damage) (2) road condition (damaged roads, potholes, sharp objects, and speed bumps); (3) climate, (extreme temperatures, strong sunlight, and ozone); (4) driving habits (speeding, quick starts, and emergency braking); (5) neglecting basic tyre maintenance (air pressure, alignment, tyre rotation, wheel balancing, use of unapproved sealants for tyre puncture; and (6) improper usage (mixing tyre types, using tyres on damaged wheels, and re-inflating a tyre that has been run flat).
Third, proper and regular maintenance can increase the lifespan of your tyres and your own safety. Three maintenance tips are essential: One, you should know the correct tyre size and air pressure for your car. The pressure is measured in pounds per square inch (psi). You can find it on the driver’s door post, the glove compartment, or the owner’s manual. You should follow whatever you find in either of the three sources and not the maximum psi written on the tyre itself.
Notice that different manufacturers use the same tyre size for their vehicles. However, manufacturers know the best psi for tyres mounted on their vehicles. They know the weight of each vehicle and the expected maximum load. The pressure recommended by the manufacturer should be the maximum, because allowance has been given for the pressure to go up a notch or two when the tyres are hot, either as a result of long and fast driving or hot weather.
Two, when you install new tyres, make sure that the alignment and wheel balancing are properly done to avoid uneven or irregular tyres wear down the road. Once you notice uneven wear on your tyre, it is time to recheck the alignment. I recommend changing, not managing, it, especially if you have to drive over a relatively long distance.
Three, remember that your whole vehicle and its passengers ride on the tyres, which provide the only contact with the road. As a result, they get hot. This is worsened by speeding and high outside temperature.
What we have on Nigerian roads is often a toxic mix of badly managed tyres, bad roads, and speedy drivers. Bad tyres do not cause accidents by themselves. Speeding on a bad road is often the cause of fatal accidents involving tyre blowouts.
This is often complicated by the drivers’ lack of knowledge in managing tyre blowouts. There are at least four basic steps to take to lessen the impact of a tyre blowout. Step 1. The starting point is to maintain a safe driving speed that will enable you to take full control of the vehicle in case of an emergency. Step 2. Be calm, and leave the footbrake alone. Do not slam on it. If you do, it will worsen the car’s imbalance and throw it out of control. Step 3. Hold firmly to the steering and do your best to keep the car going straight. If the car is pulling to one side, only gently pull the steering in the opposite direction. This is important to avoid crashing into the road divider or drifting into the bush or the opposite lane. Step 4. Guide the vehicle to gradually coast to a stop, and then pull over safely off the road. Use the mildest steering inputs throughout the ordeal.
Overall, just don’t drive too fast.
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