A tractor-trailer typically rides on 18 tires, each carrying thousands of pounds at highway speed for hours at a time. When one fails, two kinds of crashes follow. If a front steer tire blows out, the driver can lose steering control in an instant, and the truck may veer across lanes, into a median, or into oncoming traffic. If a drive or trailer tire fails, the truck may stay in its lane, but the tread can peel off in large, heavy strips that strike the cars behind it. Shredded tread on the highway, sometimes called a "road gator," also causes crashes when drivers swerve or brake to avoid it.
Florida is hard on tires. Hot pavement, heavy loads out of the ports, and high speeds on I-75, I-95, and the Turnpike all build heat inside a tire, and heat breaks a tire down from the inside.
Trucking companies often call a blowout unavoidable. Many are not. Tires usually fail for reasons that can be documented: underinflation, overloading, worn tread, cuts or damage that went unrepaired, poor retreading, or a defect in how the tire was made. Each of those causes points to a different party, and each leaves evidence.
1. Get medical care and document the scene
Get medical attention first. Then, if possible, photograph the truck's tires, any tread on the road, debris marks on your car, and the cab door with the carrier name and USDOT number. Note the mile marker. If a truck dropped tread and kept going, write down anything you saw about it: the color of the cab or trailer, company names, and any numbers.
2. Save the tire. It is the most important evidence
In a blowout case, the failed tire and every piece of it are the central physical evidence. Engineers can tell from the tire whether it failed from underinflation or overloading, a puncture or cut, or a manufacturing or retreading problem. The tire's sidewall carries a DOT code that can identify where and when the tire was made. Tread pieces left on the road are often swept up and discarded within hours. We send written demands right away that the carrier, the tow company, and any repair shop keep the tire, the wheel, and all fragments, and that no one cut, discard, or test the tire without notice.
3. Send a preservation letter for the truck's records
The letter to the motor carrier should demand that it save:
- The failed tire, the wheel, and all fragments, plus the other tires on that axle.
- Tire pressure monitoring data, if the truck has a monitoring system, and engine control module data showing speed.
- Driver vehicle inspection reports, which must cover tires and wheels and rims (49 CFR 396.11(a)(1)), and which carriers must keep for three months (49 CFR 396.11(a)(4)).
- Maintenance and repair records, including tire purchases, rotations, repairs, and retread records (49 CFR 396.3(b)), which carriers must keep for one year and for six months after a vehicle leaves their control (49 CFR 396.3(c)).
- The most recent annual inspection report, kept for 14 months (49 CFR 396.21(b)(1)).
- Bills of lading and scale tickets showing the load weight.
- Camera footage from the truck.
4. Measure the tire against the federal rules
Federal rules prohibit operating a vehicle on any tire that has "body ply or belt material exposed through the tread or sidewall," has "any tread or sidewall separation," is flat or has an audible leak, or has a cut exposing the ply or belt (49 CFR 393.75(a)). Front tires on a truck or truck tractor must have at least 4/32 of an inch of tread depth, and other tires at least 2/32 of an inch (49 CFR 393.75(b)-(c)). A tire may not carry "a weight greater than that marked on the sidewall of the tire," except under limited permit conditions (49 CFR 393.75(g)), and may not be run at a cold inflation pressure below what is specified for the load (49 CFR 393.75(i)).
“body ply or belt material exposed through the tread or sidewall,”
49 CFR 393.75(a)
5. Check whether anyone looked at the tires
Before driving, the driver must be satisfied that the tires are in good working order (49 CFR 392.7(a)) and must review the last driver inspection report when one was required (49 CFR 396.13). Carriers must "systematically inspect, repair, and maintain" their vehicles (49 CFR 396.3(a)). Each tractor and trailer must pass a periodic inspection "at least once during the preceding 12 months" (49 CFR 396.17(c)). Gaps in those records, or reports that noted a tire problem without a repair, are strong evidence that the failure was preventable.
“systematically inspect, repair, and maintain”
49 CFR 392.7(a)
Florida rules that matter
Deadline. For negligence claims arising after March 24, 2023, Florida generally allows two years to file suit (§ 95.11(5)(a), Fla. Stat.). A wrongful death action also has a two-year period (§ 95.11(5)(e)). Claims against a tire manufacturer may involve additional timing rules, so early review matters.
Fault. Florida reduces damages by a claimant's share of fault and bars recovery for a person found more than 50 percent at fault for his or her own harm (§ 768.81(2), (6), Fla. Stat.). Defendants in tire cases often blame one another or a company that is not in the case; a defendant that wants to blame a nonparty "must affirmatively plead the fault of a nonparty" (§ 768.81(3)(a)).
Insurance. Interstate for-hire carriers of nonhazardous property in vehicles of 10,001 pounds or more must carry at least $750,000 in public liability coverage (49 CFR 387.9). Trucks operating only within Florida must carry $50,000 to $300,000 per occurrence depending on weight (§ 627.7415, Fla. Stat.). Maintenance vendors and manufacturers carry their own coverage.
PIP. Your PIP coverage pays part of your medical bills if you receive initial care "within 14 days after the motor vehicle accident" (§ 627.736(1)(a), Fla. Stat.).
“must affirmatively plead the fault of a nonparty”
§ 768.81(2)
“within 14 days after the motor vehicle accident”
§ 627.736(1)(a)
Your checklist
- Get medical care within 14 days.
- Photograph the truck's tires, the debris, and the damage to your car.
- Demand in writing that the tire and all fragments be kept.
- Have a preservation letter sent for inspection, maintenance, and load records.
- Get the crash report number and the carrier's USDOT number.
- Do not let anyone test or discard the tire without notice to your lawyer.
- Talk with a trial lawyer well before the two-year deadline.
How we handle these cases
We secure the tire first. Then we work with tire engineers and reconstruction professionals to determine why it failed, and we match that finding to the carrier's inspection, maintenance, and load records to show who should have caught the problem. We represent people injured in truck crashes throughout Florida, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville. Meetings are by appointment only. Call 305-748-3789 to talk with us.
This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.