Be very carefull when changing flat tire on hwy

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted By: pottymouth
I think people would be surprised by how far they can drive on a flat before the wheel gets damaged. Assuming slow speed and not a super low profile tire. A few miles should not be an issue.


That doesn't change the issue that driving on a flat (especially with tall sidewalls) is very unsafe to do (even at low speed) and in something with a limited slip diff or some types of AWD, can cause significant drivetrain wear or damage, even over a short distance.

 

[Al]

Originally Posted By: Triple_Se7en
Some cannot afford additional AAA-type insurance premium coverage to await assistance and fix their flats for free. .

Most insurance companies offer this service for about 75 cents per month. If you can't afford that you can't afford to drive.

 

[pottymouth]

Originally Posted By: rslifkin
Originally Posted By: pottymouth
I think people would be surprised by how far they can drive on a flat before the wheel gets damaged. Assuming slow speed and not a super low profile tire. A few miles should not be an issue.


That doesn't change the issue that driving on a flat (especially with tall sidewalls) is very unsafe to do (even at low speed) and in something with a limited slip diff or some types of AWD, can cause significant drivetrain wear or damage, even over a short distance.


I've seen what a semi doing 70 can do to a car parked on the shoulder. I'm not sitting there for 30 minutes or more waiting for a tow. If I still had the Subaru and found myself in this situation, I would drive it off the highway on the flat, possible drivetrain issues or not. My safety means more to me than a differential.

To each his own.

 

[Al]

Originally Posted By: pottymouth
If I still had the Subaru and found myself in this situation, I would drive it off the highway on the flat, possible drivetrain issues or not. My safety means more to me than a differential.
To each his own.

I agree and I also have a Subaru.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
Originally Posted By: pottymouth
Originally Posted By: rslifkin
If I'm somewhere where I can't safely change a tire, it's time for a call to AAA for a flatbed so they can move the car to somewhere safer.

No way in [censored] am I going to risk my own safety as well as risk damaging a wheel, burning up a limited slip diff and now needing to buy a full set of new tires due to irreparably destroying one (assuming it wasn't already) to limp along on a flat.


I hope AAA has gotten better than they used to be. I waited over an hour for a jump start. I had borrowed the car from a family member and there were no cables. Eventually a Good Samaritan helped me out.

If the area is not safe enough to change a tire, it's probably not safe enough to sit in the car for 30 plus minutes waiting for a tow. I'll risk the wheel.

I think people would be surprised by how far they can drive on a flat before the wheel gets damaged. Assuming slow speed and not a super low profile tire. A few miles should not be an issue.


I wouldn't stay in the car if I had to sit on shoulder of the highway. I'd get out and stand in the grass off to the side 20 feet away.


Not always an option...rain, cold, snow, nowhere to stand. Also, I have seen wreckers hook "abandoned" cars with a self-loading repo truck...get the right driver, you could be stranded on the highway without a vehicle!

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: Al
Originally Posted By: Triple_Se7en
Some cannot afford additional AAA-type insurance premium coverage to await assistance and fix their flats for free. .

Most insurance companies offer this service for about 75 cents per month. If you can't afford that you can't afford to drive.


Ok...so, you call, two hours later, nobody has shown up, and you are praying you don't get fired for a no-show . Now what?

 

[KD0AXS]

Here in the Twin Cities if you're stuck on the side of the freeway you can call 911 and they will send out a member of the Freeway Incident Response Safety Team (FIRST) to help you. They carry floor jacks and an impact gun to change tires quickly and assist motorists with other roadside emergencies. They'll even give someone a gallon of gas if they've run out so they can get to a gas station.

 

[53' Stude]

That's very nice of them and thanks for that info sir

 

[Al]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Ok...so, you call, two hours later, nobody has shown up, and you are praying you don't get fired for a no-show . Now what?

You just be stupid and risk your life and if you are killed on the side of the road you won't get fired..next question.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Stop trolling. Answer the question.

 

[Al]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Stop trolling. Answer the question.

If you get stuck in traffic I assume you will get fired? What would you like me to say? I'm done with this thread.

 

[exranger06]

If you get a flat, just keep driving till you get home. What's the worst that could happen?

Seriously though, I once had a blowout on the highway just as I was getting on a bridge with no breakdown lane during rush hour. I drove over the bridge which is almost a mile long until I could get to a breakdown lane and pull over far away from traffic. It didn't damage the wheel at all, in fact I didn't even break the bead. Even the tire didn't appear to be damaged, aside from the gaping hole in the sidewall from the initial blowout.

 

[mjoekingz28]

KD, that is nice of Minnesota but dont be stingy. If they are going to go,through the trouble of delivering gas, then why just a gallon. Make it a full 5gal jug and call it good. You dont want the stranded motorist eyeing his gas gauge and frantically searching for the nearest station....instead, give him a quarter tank or more (5gal) and he can rest easy and find gas where he wants....all the while not killing the fuel pump and risking going dead again from running dry. And this is if it even cranks with a mere gallon. I read around here that an Eclipse ran dry, died, got AAA and the gallon didnt work and he ended up with a $$$$ estimate at the dealer all because they wouldnt give a full 5 gallon jug.

 

[mjoekingz28]

Just so you know.....within ten minutes of being stranded you should put out three safety triangles (orange cones). One 10 ft behind you, the next at 100ft and the third at 200ft. This is on a divided highway. There are more specifications if you are on a curve or on a two lane road.

 

[Tempest]

A friend from high school was killed on the side of a road.

Car broke down, pulled over, lifted the hood to fix. Drunk rear ended the car and killed him instantly....

 

[SirTanon]

Originally Posted By: pottymouth
Originally Posted By: Al
I will drive it to the next exit. If I wreck the wheel so be it. I carry a full size spare.


I stopped to help someone with a flat on Route 80. The buffeting from the trucks whizzing by was enough to rattle me a bit just talking from inside my car. I offered to change the tire for her if she would drive her Lexus SUV the 1/2 mile to the next exit and pull into a shopping center. She refused, saying her husband told her not to drive on a flat because she will damage the wheel. She said this as she clutched her Louis Vuitton purse. She had a phone so I bid her good day.

I'm not risking my life to save my own wheel, let alone some stranger's. Funny that someone will stand on the side of a highway clutching a $1,200 (maybe more) purse to save a $400 wheel.


... gotta have priorities man.