Bus crashes

[j.m.jackson]

I can say that tire age definitely affected the price I was willing to pay for the GMC 5303 that I bought. The cost of 6 new tires is nothing to sneeze at, and if I'm putting my family in a 48 year old coach, a blowout from an old tire is not a risk I'm willing to take.

[kyle4501]

It all comes down to a risk versus reward calculation and owner considers when evaluating the risk of running on old possibly dangerous tires.

AMEN !

I have seen obviously dangerous wheels / tires on buses at rallys. Upon pointing out the issue (for example nuts full tight, but the rim was loose ! ) , I was told that they didn't feel like it was a problem.

I worked in R&D for a major power transmission company. After running the lab testing & reporting to marketing - you wouldn't believe the spin they would sometimes put on things. That is why I take anything in a report with a grain of sand.

FYI, I have experienced 4 or 5 blowouts. On ALL of them, the tires were purchased new by me & never run low on air. They all looked very good & easily passed visual inspection just prior to failure. The common denominator was age & location. All were over 6 years old and used in South Carolina.

After watching how fast things can go bad after a front tire blowout, I am going very conservative with what I choose as acceptable tire age.

I know these things are not cheap, but it is the way I like to travel. 

What ever you choose, I wish y'all safe travels. 

[Zephod]

Always be prepared for a front blowout. This is one reason school busses are limited to 55mph.

The vast majority of bus crashes are due to driver error. As an example, over the past year the bus I usually drive for work has had the front end wrecked and rebuilt due to one of the other drivers failing to yield. One bus crashed into two other busses at a school when the driver was impatient.

From the crashes at work, speed and impatience are the biggest driver errors. I get criticized by my co driver for my "slow" driving. I drive within the speed limit!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Oonrahnjay]

...FYI, I have experienced 4 or 5 blowouts. On ALL of them, the tires were purchased new by me & never run low on air. They all looked very good & easily passed visual inspection just prior to failure. The common denominator was age & location. All were over 6 years old and used in South Carolina. ...

      Kyle, have you ever had the circumstances to compare the effects of a bus stored outside versus one that's been in a covered storage most of the tires' lives?  There's some experience that says that that makes a difference but most of us haven't had 10 years of both.

      Thanks,   BH

[Jon]

I have never stored any of my coaches outside. When not in use they are undercover in a closed garage.

I know for sure that compounds are vastly improved from what they were in the early 90's because at 5 or 6 years my tires on my first coach were showing signs of sidewall cracking. I am now replacing my 5/6 year old tires this month and they show no signs of sidewall cracking.

I cannot compare tire life relating to inside or outside storage but I do know the biggest factor impacting tire life is how we use our coaches. If we are not routinely exercising our tires like the commercial operators we are not releasing the compounds in the rubber that fight the effects of aging and that might be the biggest killer of our tires.

[lostagain]

What does "releasing the compounds in the rubber that fight the effects of aging" mean?
Aren't those compounds in the rubber already?
That has been mentioned before, but it sounds kind of voodoo to me...

JC

[windtrader]

Blah blah blah. If you haven't taken the time to fully read the reports linked to earlier, with all due respect, go to the back of the bus and mumble to yourself. Age related failures are simulated with oven baking in controlled environments. The reports also clearly correlate earlier tire failure when tires are subjected to high ambient operating environments such as AZ and SoCal. The DOT crash statistics bear this out. Please at least get informed on the science then form your own position on where an older tire lands on the list of events most likely to cause bus accidents. I was not sure about this but after this dive into the topic I'm convinced where I stand on the issue.

[eagle19952]

Blah blah blah. If you haven't taken the time to fully read the reports linked to earlier, with all due respect, go to the back of the bus and mumble to yourself. Age related failures are simulated with oven baking in controlled environments. The reports also clearly correlate earlier tire failure when tires are subjected to high ambient operating environments such as AZ and SoCal. The DOT crash statistics bear this out. Please at least get informed on the science then form your own position on where an older tire lands on the list of events most likely to cause bus accidents. I was not sure about this but after this dive into the topic I'm convinced where I stand on the issue.

well no need to continue defending it then.

my pizza oven is not the grand outdoors...it never rains in there nor is it covered in rain runoff and salts...etc. etc.

[kyle4501]

      Kyle, have you ever had the circumstances to compare the effects of a bus stored outside versus one that's been in a covered storage most of the tires' lives?  There's some experience that says that that makes a difference but most of us haven't had 10 years of both.

      Thanks,   BH

Only if you consider a covered spare tire stored inside a suburban - that one looked brand new, excellent condition. After 1000 miles, it let go with no warning on a clean interstate.

[bigred]

      Kyle, have you ever had the circumstances to compare the effects of a bus stored outside versus one that's been in a covered storage most of the tires' lives?  There's some experience that says that that makes a difference but most of us haven't had 10 years of both.

      Thanks,   BH

They will rot a lot faster if parked on dirt also!!!

[kyle4501]

Blah blah blah. If you haven't taken the time to fully read the reports linked to earlier, with all due respect, go to the back of the bus and mumble to yourself. Age related failures are simulated with oven baking in controlled environments. The reports also clearly correlate earlier tire failure when tires are subjected to high ambient operating environments such as AZ and SoCal. The DOT crash statistics bear this out. Please at least get informed on the science then form your own position on where an older tire lands on the list of events most likely to cause bus accidents. I was not sure about this but after this dive into the topic I'm convinced where I stand on the issue.

Have you ever written those types of reports? I have, lab tests, data collection, statistical analysis, interpretation, etc.


To put so much blind faith in them . . . . . Well, bless your little heart. Isn't that cute.

[Scott & Heather]

*scott quietly exits stage left*


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[windtrader]

Don exits stage right. 

[Zephod]

*sits down with a bag of popcorn and some odd tasting off brand cola to watch the show*


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[lostagain]

I just remembered that when I was driving for Swift, some of the trailers had an automatic inflation system for the tires to keep them inflated at the correct pressure. There is a little light on the front of the trailer drivers side you can see in the mirror that if it starts blinking, it means the system is pumping too much air because of a leak. A good alternative to TPMS I think. A lot of logging trucks have that in BC on the drives for airing down in the bush, and back up for the highway.

JC