Tire puncture at speed can kill

What to do if you get a puncture at speed and how. Having a puncture at any speed can have some serious consequences.

I have personally experienced a puncture at 70mph. At the time I had no idea as to how a vehicle responded to a sudden puncture.

You don't have to have bad and worn tires to get a puncture, it can happen with brand new tires too. Sometimes things lying around on the road can damage a tire and cause it to lose air slowly.

It was a few years ago when I had a puncture while driving down the motorway (freeway as some call it) with my parents on board and my two younger brothers.

I suddenly felt my steering wheel starting to judder and becoming hard to control. I used my full strength to keep it straight. But a few seconds later, I made the worst possible move I could have made at the time. I went on to press my brake to slow down thinking I will have to move to a slower lane and then stop. The second I touched my brakes, it felt as though I had slammed my breaks on. It made the car spin 3 times hitting the centre barriers of the motorway.

It was the front right hand side tire that had punctured, therefore the front right had became like a pivot point making the car spin to the right.

When the car finally came to a stop, I rushed out taking my family out as quickly as possible. We were very lucky to have come out unharmed. One of the reasons was the time it happened. It was midnight, and the traffic was low. However, as I got my family out leaving the car on the middle of the motorway, I watched in horror as cars and lorries swerved away to avoid collision.

I thought I had got away from any harm. but it was only a year later I found out I had damaged some of my neck and back muscles. I suffer to this day from what I thought was a whiplash and now a confirmed muscle damage.

So what do you do when you have a puncture?

• Put your hazard warning lights on to warn others. This will make them keep distance and be aware.
• Avoid pressing the brake
• Hold on to the steering wheel as tightly as possible.
• Try and determine which tire has punctured
• If it is a front tire, you steering will judder and pull to the side you have the puncture. (if so avoid braking)
• If it is a rear tire, you will find your back swerving slightly from side to side depending on speed.
• If it is your front tire, avoid braking, put your clutch in and reduce speed slowly. Also gear down. (if it is an automatic car, take it to neutral).
• Steer towards a safe place making sure to not steer too much or too fast.
• And slowly bring the car to a safe stop.
• If it is the rear tire, then you may break but make sure to brake very gently and try and slow down slowly.
• Again steer slowly towards a safe place to stop.

It all sounds easy, but when you are in that situation, you may not remember this. Just remember to stay calm. If you remain calm, then this will all come back to you. But if you panic, you will only do things and react in a manner that will endanger your life.
Although it doesn't sound very dangerous, punctures can have serious consequences. This is why you will find you car fails vehicle checks such as MOT when you tires are in bad shape.
Having done motor mechanics when I was in college, I got to learn how some things that seem so simple and petty can become life threatening.

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