Personal Injury Law

Are Your New Tires Really New?

By Greg Owen

Many drivers may think they know the answer to the question "Are your new tires really new?" Even if you bought your tires as new, it doesn't necessarily mean they are new. The tires may be new in the since that they are unused, but that is not what counts on the road.

The truth is "new tires" can sit for years and become dried out and consequently defective and dangerous before they even reach the store shelves. An unsuspecting customer then buys the tires from the store as new. After all, the tires have never been used and they have thread debt, so they must be okay, right? Wrong.

In England there are laws on the books to protect consumers from dangerous, dried-up tires. It is estimated that after six years of the manufacturing date, the tires have become too dry to use safely, even if they have never been on the road.

In the United States however, it is a different story. Tires have no expiration date here. They can be sold at any age. Shawn Kane's parents found out the hard way when their son was killed while driving a vehicle that had tires that were so dry they just split apart while he was driving. Sadly, Shawn died as a result of that incident. It is one thing to have been informed about a risk and to decide to take that risk in spite of the warning. It is altogether another matter to be uninformed about product dangers, particularly when that lack of knowledge ends your life prematurly and unnecessarily.

According to the United States rubber manufacturer there is absolutely no need for drivers in the United States to be given the same warning as English drivers. In fact, they claim that there is no evidence that old dried-up tires are a hazard. You decide after you view the video, which also provides additional information about how to read the obscure codes on your tires in order to determine the date it was manufactured. Stay safe, and be aware out there.

Additional Information Pertaining to Defective and Dangerous Products

Full post as published by Glendale Personal Injury Lawyer on July 14, 2008 (boomark / email).