Driver maintains control as truck's tire blows out on highway

Highway 401 in Ontario, also known as the Trans Canada Highway is one of the busiest highways in the world. It is used by almost as many 18 wheel transport trucks as cars. When these big rigs are rolling down the highway at speeds of 60-70mph, the last thing you want to see is a tire blowing out or a wheel coming off.

The tire on the far right, second from the back exploded with a sound that was like a gunshot. It could be heard several cars back and the percussion could actually be felt. The dust and dirt on the road around the truck was sent into the air like a plume of smoke. Cars following behind the semi braked in anticipation of what could have been a loss of control for the truck. Fortunately, the truck driver could hear or feel what happened and he braked in a controlled manner and pulled off the highway onto the shoulder.

Almost anyone who has driven on major highways has seen the large strips of rubber on the road as pieces are left like shrapnel after a blowout. These events must be fairly common, judging by the number of pieces of shredded tire that can be found on many roads, but it is not very often that a driver will actually witness it happening.

Luckily, this driver had a dash cam running so that it could be captured on video. It is also clear that the drivers of the vehicles around the truck were wise to brake and get ready in case the transport truck driver experienced any problems.

As the vehicle with the camera passed by, the truck with the blown tire was making his way carefully onto the right shoulder of the road.

This incident illustrates the importance of maintaining a safe following distance and the benefit of not driving right beside a large truck for any length of time. A car immediately adjacent to the tire when it exploded could have had serious trouble and likely damage.