Autopsy Of A Gator

Somewhere, out on the highway there lays a big hunk of tread from a tire. Truckers are calling out on their CB radios to be on the alert for an "alligator" at a certain spot. Everyone who sees this "gator" will be saying bad things about those darn retreads coming apart and lying all over the roads.  Well, in this case, it's not a retread. This gator is from a passenger tire. It failed due to lack of air for a prolonged period of time. This fact is evidenced by the pictorial autopsy as follows:  Photo 1 shows the original tread on a passenger car tire with part of the tread missing. The tread separated (came off) from the belt package of the tire. Evidence that this tire was run underinflated is the excessive wear on the outside edges of the tread area.  Photo 2 emphasizes that trouble was coming because the edge of the belt has become detached as shown by the ripple in both outside tread rows.  Photo 3 depicts the culprit that caused the demise of this tire, a nail, worn smooth from many miles on the pavement. This penetrating object allowed air to escape from the tire at every rotation. Eventually, the integral parts of the tire failed due to excessive flexing of the casing and the excessive heat built up from the flexing. Any tire that is run for a long time without the required pressure will fail -- whether it be a new truck tire, a passenger tire, a retreaded tire or even a bicycle tire. Check your tires on a regular basis to prevent failure such as shown here.   Photos provided by Day's Tire Service, Crestview FL

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