Dash Cam of the Week: Blow by blow

Tires. Can’t live with 'em, can’t live without 'em. For truckers, that means18 other things to worry about and check on, every day. But since we’re here for the latest installment of the Dash Cam of the Week, we’ll skip the lesson on proper maintenance, federal regulations, budgeting for a new set, retreads, the pros and cons of wide-based tires, etc., and get on with the clips.

Of course, watching videos of trucks with good tires would be kind of boring—in a good way—so let’s get to what happens when something goes wrong.

In this recently posted in-cab view, a steer tire blowout results in an up-close exploration of Florida flora. The driver reported his steering wheel was “like jelly.”

In this clip, a trailing vehicle captures how powerful a truck blowout can be.

And here, from last year but it’s cool because it’s at night, we get an entirely too close a look at the sparks flying.

Finally, because the point of DCOW is to educate, not just entertain, here’s a mini-course on how to handle steer tire blowouts. It’s a little dated and a little dry, but the tips are solid. The basics, for those who don’t have a few more minutes to spare (pun): Be prepared to handle the situation (by reading American Trucker); don’t panic; don’t jump on the brakes (causes the tire to dig in and pull hard); instead, apply the throttle to keep the wheel from digging in; maintain control and steer to the shoulder.