The tire was a Michelin LTS LT265/75 R16, with about 15,000 miles on it. It was mounted on the left rear of my 2001 Dodge Ram, 2500, 4x4, pickup truck. I was running it at 65-PSI, max tire pressure is 80-PSI.
My wife and I were on our way to Lowes to buy a pallet load of mulch to spread in our landscaping. While driving through the town, about 40 MPH, I noticed a thump coming from the rear of the truck. I stopped and I saw that the left rear tire had blistered and I immediately drove to a nearby tire dealer and had them change the tire with the spare. They threw the tire in the back of the truck and we went onto Lowes and bought the mulch.
On the way home, I was stopped at a stop light, second vehicle in the right lane with two vehicles in the adjacent lane waiting for the light to change.
Suddenly, there was a terrific explosion in the back of the truck and the truck windshield was covered with bits and pieces of mulch. Mulch also rained down onto the car in front of us and the two cars in the adjacent lane on my left.
When I had the tire changed, neither the mechanic nor I thought to let the air out of the tire in the back of the truck bed, and when I had the pallet put in the truck bed, I leaned the tire up against the pallet of mulch.
When the tire blew, the shredded steel belts and the sudden blast of air blew the ends off three of the bags of much and sent the mulch flying everywhere…
We all pulled over to the side of the road and luckily no one was injured and everyone thought it was ridiculously funny. I provided my insurance all with the promise that if the insurance did not cover cleaning their cars, I would. My State Farm Insurance Agent told me that only one of the folks made a claim for cleaning their car and the insurance paid for it under “road hazard.”
As you can see in the attached photo of the tire, when it tire blew, it blew catastrophically, and if I had been driving at speed, it could have resulted in a very serious accident.
So a word to the wise, “Do not ride on a defective tire!” You are putting your life, the lives of your family and friends, and the lives of anyone near your vehicle in danger.
