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Most truck tires were designed over five years ago, back when there were almost no highways in the United States that featured speed limits above 65 or 70 miles per hour.
The times have changed, though, and there are now over 14 states that have roads with 75, 80, or even 85 mile per hour speed limits, according to the San Antonio Express. This presents a major problem. Modern truck tires were only designed to handle speeds up to 75 mph. Exceeding that threshold makes them liable to burst, leading to potentially deadly crashes and pile-ups.
The San Antonio Express reports that between 2009 and 2013, there were more than 14,000 deadly crashes in the United States featuring heavy trucks or buses, compiling a death toll of nearly 16,000 people. Of these wrecks, 198 can be attributed to busted tires and so too can be 223 of the deaths. The number of tire-related fatalities is quickly climbing from year to year. Both highway patrol officers and truck operators are blaming each other for such statistics, as the truckers feel that it is the responsibility of the authorities to ensure that drivers do not speed, while authorities are pinning the blame on the truckers for knowingly breaking the law. In summary, there is an awful lot of blame going around, but not a lot of reform.
This is not only a blatant safety hazard, but also a major source of strife for fleet owners, as the costs of fixing faulty tires has become unwieldy. James Perham, president of Extreme Transportation Corp., told the San Antonio Express, “It’s a recipe for disaster.” His company has accumulated an estimated $30,000 bill to replace blown out Michelin tires. Truck drivers, authorities, and the general populous alike are (or at least should be) concerned with this issue.
The question, then, becomes how to solve the problem. It may seem rather obvious: either increase law enforcement or produce newer, more modern tires.
Well, there is a hitch with each one of those, both financial. Regarding the potential increased-enforcement solution, such measures have been delayed for a long time in the vast network of the American bureaucracy. It is nearly impossible to work out any sort of legislation that could cover such a need, as the money that would be needed to finance increased enforcement must come from somewhere, after all (meaning your tax dollars). The same issue persists with the other potential solution, dealing with new-and-improved tires. Manufacturers are too afraid that the market will not be welcoming to such a product, and therefore have no interest in its creation.
So, it looks as if so long as people are willing to put money over safety, the problems will persist, as it seems that the archaic model for tires is set to hang around for years to come. Did you know that factoring helps truckers cover unexpected maintenance costs and repairs? Many truck factoring companies offer no minimum volumes, so you can factor when you want and choose which customers to factor.
