Aged Tires: Are Your Vehicle Tires Safe?

[jack10562 414]

This topic came to mind with the recent thread regarding the Provincetown, MA ladder truck roll-over accident. Questions which the investigation will eventually answer, remain: It may have been an operator error, or there may have been a mechanical failure that caused the wreck.

One thing I'm fairly certain of, probably very few people pay attention to the age of their vehicle tires.

To be sure, tire tread, inflation, and general wear and appearance are probably routinely checked by many, but who takes a look at the age of the tire itself, and further, makes a determination to remove what appears to be a "good" tire from service based on that age?

ABC News 20/20 ran a segment on older tires being sold, brand new tires that basically were near the end of their useful life, even though they were never even used!

"As rubber ages, it increases the risk of the tread separating from the tire, causing a sudden blowout and loss of control of the vehicle."

"The 20/20 report said some experts are now recommending an expiration date of only 6 years from the date of manufacture, whether a tire has been in use on a vehicle or has been sitting in a warehouse."

A 10 minute video segment:

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897

The age of an emergency vehicle tire should be taken into account when figuring replacement maintenance. A lot of these large, heavy trucks have relatively low mileage in some quieter departments, and they sit there for a long time with tires looking like brand new that may be potentially dangerous!

There is so much information out there.

http://www.safetyresearch.net/tires.htm

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=t...G=Google+Search