Better with Age? Dangerous Tires on the Road
We lawyers who are over forty years old know that we get better with age. Tires, on the other hand, have a limited service life regardless of tread depth and use. The dangers of "aged" tires is a little known problem outside of the industry and one that is likely the cause of a significant number of tread separation problems. "Aged" tires are often unsuspectingly put into service after having served as a spare, stored in garages or warehouses, or simply used on a vehicle that is infrequently driven. In many instances these tires show no visible sign of deterioration, and absent any visible indicators, tires with adequate tread depth are likely to be put into service regardless of age.
As of June 2, 2008 Safety Research & Strategies (SRS) has documented 159 incidents in which tires older than six years experienced tread / belt separations—most resulting in loss-of-control crashes.
ABC News recently exposed the hidden danger of tires that are six years of age becoming extrememly dangerous. Many serious injuries and deaths could be avoided if the motoring public is properly warned and protocols were in place to remove old tires from the shelves.
The bottom line is that there are many tire failures out there because of this phenomenon. The key to good tire structure is to put antioxidants into the slip coat between the tread and the carcass prior to vulcanizing the tire. Antioxidants raise the cost of the tire, so the industry uses as little as it thinks it can get by with. The seepage of air between the tread and the carcass causes oxygen to invade the space and to degrade the adhesive bond between the tread and the tire. This can be from a puncture, even one that is repaired, or it can be caused by a defective inner liner which allows air to escape into the body of the tire.
The industry generally continues to claim that there is no adequate way to warn. People will continue to die unnecessarily unless and until this problem is properly addressed.
