Watch this video, it could save your life.

trubluluc

Check your tires!

Another example of big business taking care of their profit margins and putting peoples lives at risk.

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897

-Luc

MKZ

Got it. sorry.

Demiurge

trubluluc wrote: »

Another example of big business taking care of their profit margins and putting peoples lives at risk.

:rolleyes:

The news media sure loves to scare people, and it certainly works.

How many of you have owned a car that have had the same tires on them for many years? Especially those of you with classic cars. Still alive to tell about it?

Driving is a risk. It's a shame accidents occur, but that's why they call them accidents. Recently, a tire shot off of a semi traveling southbound and struck a car heading northbound killing the driver instantly. Perhaps there is a company that can be blamed for that so we can feel better about the unnecessary loss of life.

I'll tell you what, lets pass a law forcing companies to get rid of the old tires after 2 years on the shelf. Since they're obviously just out to kill people to line their own pockets.

You know what's next, right? That's right, higher prices.

Enjoy!

trubluluc

Work for a tire company Demi?

News services can be sensationalistic, sure, but they can also educate, pointing out things that big business would like to keep under the rug.

If you had actually watched the video, you would know they are recommending up to a 6 year shelf life. Selling tires that have been sitting somewhere in a hot warehouse for over 6 years as new is ridiculous.
Classic cars...you mean the cars you take out maybe once a week for a couple hour drive, putting less than a couple thousand miles annually?

Worry about it? not me, I'll check the date code on the next tires I buy.
Worry is what you weren't concerned enough to make a good choice in the first place.

-Luc

Demiurge wrote: »

:rolleyes:

The news media sure loves to scare people, and it certainly works.

How many of you have owned a car that have had the same tires on them for many years? Especially those of you with classic cars. Still alive to tell about it?

Driving is a risk. It's a shame accidents occur, but that's why they call them accidents. Recently, a tire shot off of a semi traveling southbound and struck a car heading northbound killing the driver instantly. Perhaps there is a company that can be blamed for that so we can feel better about the unnecessary loss of life.

I'll tell you what, lets pass a law forcing companies to get rid of the old tires after 2 years on the shelf. Since they're obviously just out to kill people to line their own pockets.

You know what's next, right? That's right, higher prices.

Enjoy!

Demiurge

trubluluc wrote: »

Work for a tire company Demi?

News services can be sensationalistic, sure, but they can also educate, pointing out things that big business would like to keep under the rug.

If you had actually watched the video, you would know they are recommending up to a 6 year shelf life. Selling tires that have been sitting somewhere in a hot warehouse for over 6 years as new is ridiculous.
Classic cars...you mean the cars you take out maybe once a week for a couple hour drive, putting less than a couple thousand miles annually?

Worry about it? not me, I'll check the date code on the next tires I buy.
Worry is what you weren't concerned enough to make a good choice in the first place.

-Luc

No, I don't. Just a student of common sense.

I did watch the video. It's a sob story about a young man who got killed and the evil tire companies are to blame for his death. It's like everything else in the media, try to play on people's emotions to create an emotional reaction. It clearly worked.

My reaction was to your comment that somehow 'Big Rubber' is out to kill people just so they can keep their profit margins high.

That's an emotional reaction.

If you want to regulate the length of time tires can sit in a store/warehouse the end result will be higher prices for tires. Maybe this will be a good regulation to enforce and it's something you support. Just know that all regulation leads to higher costs that will ultimately lead to higher prices for the consumer. We absorb it, not Goodyear, Dunlop, or any other manufacturer.

If you force these companies to raise the price of tires it's only going to lead to people replacing their tires with less frequency, compounding this 'problem'. With classic cars, which was merely an example, hardened rubber is hardened rubber. If this story is to be believed, it means that anyone who has a car with original tires on it that they barely drive is getting into a death trap everytime they do.

ND13

I want to know why the father, in the video, would think that, after 5 years, the tires on that SUV would still be safe anyway. Unless that SUV had been driven less than 8,000/yr., those tires COULDN'T have been in all that great of shape.

Yeah, I'm going to send my son and his friends on a trip out of the country in a SUV that has, in his mind, 5 year old rubber on it.:rolleyes:

Jstas

I agree with Demi and ND13. It's a bunch of BS.

If the guy's SUV had the same rubber for 5 years then he doesn't drive it much and it sits stationary for long periods of time. If anything, it wasn't the age of the tire that caused the problem but rather the dry rotting of the carcass from the weight of the SUV sitting on the tires that were not moving for days, maybe weeks at a time and getting beat up by the elements.

If the tread block came off of the carcass of the tire, I'll bet that the stationary position of the tires had alot to do with that. Ever drive next to a car on the highway and you can hear the tire noise and it sounds like a tire is smacking the pavement every revolution? Yeah, that is a tread block separating from a tire carcass or even a broken steel belt. It is usually from a car that sat or drove on a flat tire too long or a car that sat on even an inflated tire too long. Flat-spotting due to locking up your brakes can cause that too. It leads to an unbalanced tire condition which causes excessive heat in the tire. That will cause the bonding that attaches the tread block to the carcass to fail.

While the accident was likely caused by the tire failure, the driver's reaction is most likely what caused the van to crash. The kid was a senior, just out of high school. He was driving maybe 2 years, tops. He had 3 other good wheels and working brakes. He likely panicked when the tire blew and the tread block separated. I've had it happen, in a Mack truck, it's unnerving to say the least and the urge to panic, over-react and unsettle the vehicle is real. Experience is the only thing that can help you in that moment.

And yes, I have sold tires before, I do know what the date codes are and I barely watched the video because it was so sensationalistic it made me sick.

Joe08867

Demi, you like taking the opposite stance on stuff don't you?
I agree that it was an accident and that is sad but old tires are dangerous. How can that be hard to digest. Why would the European tire guys have a six year cap on tires if they were no problems?

Of course they used a family that lost a son or daughter. Would people even pay attention if there were no human side to the story? It isn't a scare tactic it is an attention tactic.

It is more proof that lawyers and big companies run this country. And all they say to us is What Are You Going To Do About It????

By the way the price of tires is going up but that is because of oil prices. Let me see you argue that one....

ND13

Most tire stores, at least where I live, are revolving doors for employees( I deal with tire stores on a frequent basis). So I doubt very seriously that the counter guy or the tech that did the mounting, even knew that the tires had been on the rack for 4 years.

Don't take me wrong. It's a crying shame that the kids lost their lives, but to blame the tire manufacturer is wrong. If anything, the store from which they were bought, needs to have better inventory practices.

It was a terrible accident. likely do to numerous factors.

Jstas

Joe08867 wrote: »

Demi, you like taking the opposite stance on stuff don't you?
I agree that it was an accident and that is sad but old tires are dangerous. How can that be hard to digest. Why would the European tire guys have a six year cap on tires if they were no problems?

Of course they used a family that lost a son or daughter. Would people even pay attention if there were no human side to the story? It isn't a scare tactic it is an attention tactic.

It is more proof that lawyers and big companies run this country. And all they say to us is What Are You Going To Do About It????

By the way the price of tires is going up but that is because of oil prices. Let me see you argue that one....

It's not the fact that tires have a shelf-life that anyone is disputing.

It's the shady tactic and exploitation of a tragic accident that people are upset about. The tire failure is only a small part of that accident. I've had many tires on much larger, top-heavy vehicles fail over the years and there has only been one accident because of it and no fatalities. Singling out this one, inexperienced driver as an example of how we are being snowed by "big rubber" is a scare tactic and shoddy journalism.

The truth is out there but you aren't going to necessarily find it on TV.

Demiurge

Joe08867 wrote: »

Demi, you like taking the opposite stance on stuff don't you?

It is more proof that lawyers and big companies run this country. And all they say to us is What Are You Going To Do About It????

By the way the price of tires is going up but that is because of oil prices. Let me see you argue that one....

Apropos to irrational comments? Yeah, I guess I do. Like your second line above....WTF, how does one even respond to that?

Uh, and the price of oil is obviously going to drive up the cost of anything petroleum based. Doesn't that make legislating regulations that will lead to even more price increases that much more ridiculous?

Joe08867

Did you see the part with all the cars that had tires failed all parked together smashed up. It wasn't a single accident. It is just like Firestone Ford. They tried to deny it until it was proven to be a tire fault not driver error.

What kind of tire Failure have you had. And don't tell me a blow out. It doesn't even compare to tire tread coming off. I have had that on a big rig the only good thing is they have six tires on one side of the tractor and six on the other. I still felt a huge pull to the right when it happened.

Now imagine in happening to a tope heavy Minivan or SUV. How is that going to end up??

News likes to sensationalize but it isn't for scaring purposes anymore than a salesmen screaming "Our Prices are Insane!!!!" It is to get your attention. It may make you go out and check your tires and see they are 10-12 years old and maybe think about the possible consequences.

Joe08867

OK so my second line was a bit over the top for this discussion. I would change it but it has been longer than ten minutes.

It doesn't mean it's wrong but that is another conversation. I am not an irrational person. I have worked in litgation for many years and have seen it from the inside.

disneyjoe7

Is there not a company trying to make money if they are in business?


BTW talking about tires did you know "Proper air pressure in your tires and a tune up" could replace drilling of oil in this country?

Demiurge

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

BTW talking about tires did you know "Proper air pressure in your tires and a tune up" could replace drilling of oil in this country?

hahaha......

Jstas

Joe08867 wrote: »

What kind of tire Failure have you had. And don't tell me a blow out. It doesn't even compare to tire tread coming off. I have had that on a big rig the only good thing is they have six tires on one side of the tractor and six on the other. I still felt a huge pull to the right when it happened.

You obviously either didn't read my post or you only read selective parts.

I've had blow outs of all kinds that included tire tread separations and catastrophic failure where the tire flat out disintegrates. I've had failures on everything from an itty bitty Hyundai Excel to a fully loaded, 80,000 pound trash truck which lost one tire and the disintegrating tread block and steel belts took out 3 more tires. I have had blow outs happen at 10 miles an hour all the way up to 130+ MPH in my pickup truck. I'm still here to tell about it and yes, most times the vehicle did pull but experience tells me not to panic and slow the vehicle down gradually and keep it straight.

I was also a heavy equipment/diesel mechanic and that included changing and maintaining tires. I have seen many, many blow outs and tire failures and like I said, only one accident resulted from it and no fatalities. Then again, at 31 years old, I've probably driven over 1,000,000 miles in total from personal vehicles to delivery trucks to test drives and asset recovery runs to retrieve broken trucks. I have a bit more experience than the average high school kid driving daddy's van.

Joe08867

Disney, ha ha ha

Jstas, I didn't mean to sound like I thought you were exaggerating. I was just curious of what kind of blowouts you have seen and been in. I may have come accross as being a dick, this was not my intention. Just asking the question. My apologies if it seemed otherwise.

I was also a Diesel mechanic and Driver back in the day. And truck tires are pretty known for this kind of thing. Especially retreaded tires.

We agree on the inexperience side of this. I have had blowouts and I am still here to talk about them. Panic is the enemy as is not paying attention to the job at hand. Any distraction can cause a possible accident to become one.

suprafantx

I will pay higher price for my safety. If any you out there want to save some money and risk your life, it is your choice.

Thanks for great information Trubluluc.

shack

Everything is always somebody else's fault.....:rolleyes:

Demiurge

suprafantx wrote: »

I will pay higher price for my safety. If any you out there want to save some money and risk your life, it is your choice.

Thanks for great information Trubluluc.

suprafantx

Demiurge wrote: »

Look like you tried to save money to buy a casket.

Demiurge

suprafantx wrote: »

Look like you tried to save money to buy a casket.

WilliamM2

What's tha argument about? Even if legislation were put into effect to limit the sale of tires over 6 years old, these tires would have still been OK to sell. They were 4 years old when he bought them!

I love all the pictures of re-treads lying on the side of the raod, implying that this happens to passenger cars all the time. Re-treads should be illegal, they have a very high failure rate, and they don't kill the truck driver, but whoever is following behind.

jdhdiggs

Demiurge wrote: »

Damnit Dave, if you're going to do something, do it right:

Demiurge

jdhdiggs wrote: »

Damnit Dave, if you're going to do something, do it right:

Oh, I get how this works now.

SolidSqual

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

Is there not a company trying to make money if they are in business?


BTW talking about tires did you know "Proper air pressure in your tires and a tune up" could replace drilling of oil in this country?

That's so true . . . I read it in the New Testament at Sunday school with Reverend Wright.

ben62670

I have driven on a lot of real old tires. Dry rotted, bald, and belts showing. I do not recommend this. The only tired that blew on me was an almost brand new Michelin. Defective belt(bulge in sidewall).
Ben

brettw22

What I don't get is who is warehousing stuff for 12 years.........Who the hell is buying such a quantity of tires then have them just sitting for that long.........I can see that being more of an issue with smaller mom/pop type of gas stations or smaller stations, but over 5 years or so is weird.........

If there's anything I've learned in life, it's not to trust someone with the last name Zalinsky.........(Thanks Tommy)

obieone

suprafantx wrote: »

I will pay higher price for my safety. If any you out there want to save some money and risk your life, it is your choice.

Thanks for great information Trubluluc.

Some people don't have the CHOICE!:rolleyes:

I-SIG

I thought this was gonna be the never, ever, ever talk to the police video.

Wes

trubluluc

I also am a firm supporter of common sense...although it seems to be less and less common these days. To pay the price for a product expect it to be well made and safe, seems pretty common sensible to me.

I'm not say big business is out to get people, it is out to make a profit...the highest profit it can. That's Capitalism. But to knowingly sell a product that increases the risk of an accident, and not inform the public of this possibility...Yes, that is unconscionable.
Ford Motor Company and others support making a 6 year shelf life a law.
The tobacco industry has and continues to say their product isn't harmful, and yet we know better. And it wasn't until we the people finally forced them to put warnings on their product that they did so. Want to avoid the danger don't smoke. But most people can't avoid buying tires.
Yes, regulation has cost, but usually the cost is acceptable in light of the danger NON-regulation presents. Big business is not going to come forward and volunteer to make products safer, or do anything that will make their product more expensive willingly unless told to do so by the people. Imaging where we would be if no one regulated the amount pollution factories can emit? Would they be taking steps to protect the air you breath or the water in rivers no. Would they be putting airbags pr seat belts in cars? No business wouldn't be doing anything that added to the cost of their product. Unless we as a people demand it.
It's not just the tire manufacturers that are selling old tires it's the retail outlets, everyone from Sears to Joeblow tires. Who may get a deal on "older" inventory, but not disclose this to the people buying the tires.
But I'll bet the tires he puts on his car are fresh.

Again, it's not that every tire over 6 years of age makes the vehicle a "deathtrap", it just increases the odds of a problem occurring. And it's an unnecessary risk, one that can be prevented.
When you're talking about your loved ones driving around, yes I'd want my family to be as safe as possible.

-Luc

Demiurge wrote: »

No, I don't. Just a student of common sense.

I did watch the video. It's a sob story about a young man who got killed and the evil tire companies are to blame for his death. It's like everything else in the media, try to play on people's emotions to create an emotional reaction. It clearly worked.

My reaction was to your comment that somehow 'Big Rubber' is out to kill people just so they can keep their profit margins high.

That's an emotional reaction.

If you want to regulate the length of time tires can sit in a store/warehouse the end result will be higher prices for tires. Maybe this will be a good regulation to enforce and it's something you support. Just know that all regulation leads to higher costs that will ultimately lead to higher prices for the consumer. We absorb it, not Goodyear, Dunlop, or any other manufacturer.

If you force these companies to raise the price of tires it's only going to lead to people replacing their tires with less frequency, compounding this 'problem'. With classic cars, which was merely an example, hardened rubber is hardened rubber. If this story is to be believed, it means that anyone who has a car with original tires on it that they barely drive is getting into a death trap everytime they do.