When lightning strikes

June 5, 2014
Even the best efforts of tire manufacturers can’t prevent accidents

On Oct. 2, 2013, a three-car accident involving a church bus, an SUV and a tractor-trailer on Interstate 40 outside Knoxville, TN, tragically claimed the lives of eight people and injured 12.  The media immediately reported that it was the result of a blown steer tire, so the tire and transportation industries braced for another potential public relations and/or regulatory nightmare.  Speculation ran rampant as a few “experts” tried to place all of the blame on the tire or the bus driver and basically guessed what caused this tragedy.

Fortunately, the Tennessee Highway Patrol ignored the media reports and spent thousands of worker-hours to investigate the accident in order to understand how and why it happened.  The investigation concluded that the bus had struck an object in the road within the 50 mi. prior to the accident.  Trooper Randall Massengill described it as a “break and separate” type of tire failure. Tennessee District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn said, “No grand jury will be convened, and no criminal acts of any kind have been committed.  This is just a terrible, horrible crash.”

After the press conference, Trooper Massengill was also quoted as saying, “There is nothing that the driver of the bus or anyone else could have done prior to the accident to give a hint that something was wrong.  You would not have seen anything amiss on the tire.  The air pressure would have been normal, and you wouldn’t have seen any cuts or protuberances because the problem was on the inside of the tire.”

Tires are engineered to absorb most impacts without suffering any permanent damage and given the deteriorating condition of this nation’s roads and highways, it’s a good thing that they are incredibly durable.  But there will be times when the impact is simply too much for the internal structure of the tire to handle.  There is no way to determine when or where it will happen and in this instance, the investigation revealed that no one could have predicted the “blunt force impact” would eventually lead to a failure.

Ambulance-chasing attorneys and safety advocates are always looking for someone to blame.  The Tennessee Highway Patrol should be commended for conducting a thorough investigation and making sure that only the facts were considered.  “[The investigation] found no evidence of impairment on any drivers involved in the crash, no evidence that the drivers were distracted, and no evidence that the bus was not well-maintained,” Col. Tracy Trott said. “This was a tragic event that claimed the lives of eight individuals by no fault of any one person.”

Benjamin Franklin is credited as being the first person to say that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  If that philosophy is applied to tires, it is accurate in most cases.  The condition of every tire on the vehicle must be visually inspected prior to each day’s use, and the inflation pressure must be checked so it can be adjusted if necessary.  When drivers and maintenance personnel practice an ounce of prevention on a daily basis, everyone on the highway reaps the benefits.

However, there will be times when lightning strikes like it did in October 2013.  The unpredictable nature of road conditions and omnipresence of debris and hazards will occasionally claim the lives of tires and, unfortunately, the people who rely on them.  My prayers and condolences go out to the families of the eight people who lost their lives and the 12 who were injured.  But as a 32-year veteran of the tire business, I have to admit that I was relieved to hear that my industry was not to blame.

This time.

Kevin Rohlwing can be reached at [email protected]
 

About the Author

Kevin Rohlwing

Kevin Rohlwing is the SVP of training for the Tire Industry Association. He has more than 40 years of experience in the tire industry and has created programs to help train more than 180,000 technicians.

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