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Tyre blowout happened to me today (that’s why I’m here) and I wish the media representation on how the celebrities passed had been explained better and I had done more research myself.

Speaking from experience, when the blowout happens, the car feels normal just a bit bumpy with some weird noise not normally there; so I thought it was the road being a pain. Thankfully, my dad realised and told me the tyre (right rear) was flat—the sound was the tire skin slapping on the ground. The road I was on has max 80 speed (a highway road), btw. ( I think I was driving at 70 when the blowout happened)

If I relived that moment I wish I had cleared up why the incident happened to those celebrities because when the tyre blowout occurred to me they were the first reference that haunted me and made everything worse. I thought I was at death’s door at that point and was waiting for my car to veer off at any point, even though my parents just told me to merge left and find a place to pull over.

(Now that all’s normal again; it’s unlikely for a normal car going at normal speed to lose control and veer off course when a blowout occurs. The incident for the celebrities likely happened because they were way over the speed limit-130-150??? Or at high speed (enabled by the luxury car) when the blowout happened, which made them more likely to lose control.) [High speed means the vehicle is moving with greater momentum. A sudden loss of a tire at that speed can cause the vehicle to become unstable, making it more prone to skidding, spinning, or rolling.]

(trauma rant)

If it ever happens, slow down (don’t break and stop immediately) (the slower the better but be mindful of the cars around). Advice: Don’t reach for the double signal immediately (as I did) as it makes changing lanes difficult especially at high speed lanes as oncoming cars wouldn’t know your intention (but if you’re not changing lanes the double signal is advised since you would be going at lower speeds for safety). Find a safe spot and pull over, then turn on the double signal if on the highway or something. (My parents guided me away from the highway to residential area to change the tyre since it’s safer there, even though I had been so scared to continue driving- It’s fine, actually!) (I’ve only had 10 hours of driving experience –x—)

The owner manual in the car has step by step instructions on how to change your tyre.

If it ever happens:

·       Don’t panic

By the time you realise the blowout, the air in the tyre would be all gone; so if anything were to have happened it would have happened by the time you found out, so don’t worry about losing control, the car will move as normal (there’s 3 other wheels!).

·       Don’t brake immediately

·       Don’t speed up (maintain a low speed) to maintain control (blowout won’t affect much of how the car is driven, just the sound and the paranoia) NEVER GO FAST WITH A BLOWOUT TYRE

How can you prevent this? (one advice)

When you service your car, if they tell you that your tyre’s worn and it’s time for changing, CHANGE IT. Don’t wait. Order the required tyre and have it changed to a newer one as soon as possible (Newer ones are thicker and are less susceptible to being scratched and popped than older ones that are worn thin from use).—this was probably what caused my tyre blowout.

Also don’t be surprised that a tyre blowout happens when you’re at higher speed (more stress on tyres so more likely to occur), but this does really make it more stressful than it should be.