Are you aware that you may be driving a ticking time bomb? Changing our tires regularly is not something most people think about on a daily, or even yearly basis, but the danger of failing to do so is very real.
As the rubber in the tire ages, the result can be cracking and large stresses on the tire’s infrastructure. This cracking and stress can lead to sudden and violent tread separation, as the clip below shows. The results of such explosions can be disastrous, or even deadly. This ‘ticking time bomb’ has caused more than 100 deaths in the United States.
A tire may look fine on the outside, but the rubber inside could have degenerated, and the chances of tread separation increase substantially for tires that exceed six years since the time of their manufacture.
How can you find out how old your tires really are? All tires manufactured in the United States since 2000 have a code stamped them. The last 3 or 4 digits of this code show the manufacturing date of that tire. For example, if your tire was manufactured in the 21st week of 2005, the 4-digit code would read “2105;” if the tire was produced in the 21st week of 1995, the 3-digit code would read “215.”
Check the age of your tires and be safe!
