At a time when driving on gravel roads and tire manufacturing technology was not as perfect as it is today, spiny wheels were the order of the day. Our grandfathers, who were professional drivers for example, told us that it was normal to change a punctured tire every other week. On the contrary today there are those among us who have never had a flat tire, and they have been driving a car every day for many years. But bad luck sometimes sticks to each of us.
However, those who prepare carefully will not be surprised by a flat tire and will know what to do. The basic advice is: Don’t make a mess. Although it’s an inconvenience, it’s a normal part of living with a car, and the world won’t come crashing down because of it. Sure, if you’re supposed to be in a meeting or at work, it’s a problem, but no one is going to rip your head off for being late for something beyond your control.
Drive the car to a stop
A slow puncture, when the air leaks out gradually, without a tire pressure monitoring system, is almost unrecognizable. Only when the tire pressure drops a lot will you start to feel more resistance in the steering and the car will pull to the side where the flat tire is. In the case of a sudden defect, it is more noticeable, there is usually a bang and a big noise, strong vibrations can be felt in the steering. If the rear tire blows, the car will tend to “float” down the road.
Mainly try to drive the car. It is partially controllable even with a flat tire, if you don’t mess up, keep a straight direction and don’t make sudden movements with the steering wheel. Keep the car straight, slow down gently and use the brake carefully. Expect the car to pull you a little to the side of the puncture, especially if it involves the front tires.
While a slow flat is manageable and can be driven home, sudden tire destruction is quite dangerous. It scares the unsuspecting driver, who easily loses control of the car. In addition, a rubber damaged in this way can damage the car quite a bit.
Sudden oversteer caused by a defective rear tire can unpleasantly surprise even experienced drivers who otherwise have no problems managing oversteer skids. The car is very difficult to drive.
A flat rear tire has the opposite effect and is more dangerous, especially because the driver does not recognize the change so much in the steering wheel and steering. When he drives his car straight for a long time, for example on the highway, he doesn’t even have to notice it. When you need to turn, for example on a freeway exit, you can suddenly lose control of the car with a flat rear tire. But modern cars will help you with the stability of the car thanks to assistance systems. However, it cannot perform miracles and ESP will have nothing to rely on on empty tires.
If the low tire pressure warning light comes on while driving, don’t panic. Concentrate on driving and check the tires in a safe place. Do not step on the brake immediately in traffic. You probably only have a slow puncture, where you finish even with a flat tire. If a tire bursts or deflates completely, you will know by the control of the car.
Try to carefully guide the car to the right side of the road and to the shoulder. If the puncture is small, the vehicle is drivable and the tire wears slowly, it is better to find a safer place and drive carefully to a larger area where you can park the car so that it does not obstruct traffic. If the tire bursts completely and the air escapes immediately, all you have to do is figure out where you are. Do not drive on a flat tire more than absolutely necessary – it will destroy the rim and the car.
Triangle, waistcoat… Do we know?
Once you have the car under control and slowing down, turn on your hazard lights (warning indicators) and stop at a safe place near the edge. Secure the vehicle against rolling away (parking brake, engaged gear), take the high-visibility vest and the triangle. These are items from the mandatory equipment of the vehicle. Hever and the reserve deal only after what place the triangle at a sufficient distance from the car (by law 50 m on a normal road, 100 m on a highway). Don’t skimp on the steps and put it really far enough. Especially on roads where you drive faster (or before a bend if you’ve stopped a bit past it). If there are other passengers in the car, it is better if they leave the vehicle and hide behind the barriers or further off the road. If possible, it is always better to get off the highway (even with a flat tire) to a safer place and not move on it.
There are still debates about what should and should not be mandatory equipment. But everyone would probably voluntarily carry a warning triangle and a first aid kit, even if it wasn’t required by law, a life jacket is also useful.
Above all, please don’t take that reflective vest as some sort of shield of immortality. The fact that you wear it is more of an aid for others to see you better. But that doesn’t mean you’re automatically invulnerable. Therefore be careful when moving around the car and monitor the traffic situation.
Place the triangle on the side where your car creates an obstacle or restriction. If for some reason you should happen to pull over to the left side of the road, place a triangle in front of the car to warn drivers coming from the other side. Of course, for example, on the highway, you put a triangle in the direction from which the cars are coming. Even with a flat tire, the car should be carefully driven completely to the right off the road. Leave it on the left only if, for example, a wheel falls off or there is a problem that makes it impossible to move the car safely.
If your car has created an obstacle to traffic that you cannot remove yourself, you need to call the police and ask for help. Police will direct traffic until the tow truck arrives. You also have the authority to regulate traffic if the situation requires it: for example, a car parked in a narrow road blocking the passage.
Do you have a spare? And can you replace it?
Although it is changing a flat tire is a relatively trivial operation, which everyone should be able to handle, it may not work. Few people regularly check the reserve and already it happened to many people that they had a reserve in their car, but it was completely empty. The same applies to the emergency wheel for reaching a limited speed – the pressure in the spare wheel needs to be checked regularly.
Full-sized spare wheels are a rarity these days. And unfortunately, even these emergency “end roads”, with which you can drive at least eighty, are no longer a complete standard.
Sometimes someone’s lever doesn’t work, many people also lose the wheel key (or forget to put it back in the car after needing it for something else at home). And it also happens that when a sloppy repairman tightens your screws with a 300 Nm impact wrench, you won’t loosen them, even if you danced on the wheel wrench.
There is no shame in trying to stop someone and ask for help. Although it may not seem like it, people are usually willing to help someone in need, even though it is not their duty.
Expect to get quite dirty when changing a wheel. Unfortunately, this is part and parcel of this discomfort, and some wet wipes will only be a small band-aid. But it’s still better to be dirty, but at the destination of your journey, than to look like something from a magazine, but get nowhere. In any case, it is good to be prepared for such situations and carry work gloves and a larger rag in the car.
Towing is not a shame
Don’t take towing as a loss, in many cases it’s simply a safer solution – running around a car on the shoulder of a busy main thoroughfare or in the parking lane of a highway and praying that a truck doesn’t sweep us is a useless gamble.
In addition, a full-fledged spare wheel is a great rarity today, it is switched to service wheels for emergency driving at a limited speed. Some cars don’t even have those, they have to make do with a repair kit for a damaged tire. But you can’t do everything. Repair kits are mainly used to heal small “nail” holes, torn siding and other large holes will not heal.
Towing will be required for cars where the tire cannot be changed. Check how you are doing with assistance under your liability insurance.
Although some adhesive kits can help, this is also only an emergency solution and the rubber needs to be replaced. In addition, tire shops are not big fans of some “repair” kits, because they make tools for them. This is also why “runflat” tires began to spread, with which you can drive at a limited speed even with a puncture, but they are expensive and limit driving comfort. And they should not be repaired after a defect, at least some types.
Some cars cannot do without towing even with a flat tire, but don’t take it as a shame. It just might happen. However, it is necessary to prepare for this in advance, and if you know that you will not change the bike yourself, set up your insurance well, whether you have assistance fully or at least partially covered by the insurance. Today, many insurance companies offer assistance and possibly towing as part of a statutory “compulsory liability” package. When communicating with the insurance company, specify what the problem is so that they can help you on the spot. It doesn’t necessarily have to be for towing, but just for a service intervention that will get you up and running again.
