When a Tampa resident gets into the person’s car, there are certain dangers that are inherent out on the road. An auto accident can happen at any time and, in many instances, it is due to the negligent and reckless behaviors of another driver. However, given the number of accidents and injuries that have resulted from flaws within vehicles, the safety of the automobile and how it might be compromised by flaws or mistakes cannot be ignored when there is a crash. One such issue is something that few even think about when driving — their tires.
The National Transportation Safety Board is well aware of the importance of tires and is conducting ongoing research and issuing reports when it comes to tire safety. Their studies have indicated that 539 people were killed in 2013 due to crashes that were linked to tires. On an annual basis, approximately 33,000 accidents occur that are found to be linked to tires. An estimated 19,000 injuries resulted from these accidents. It is believed that accidents caused by tires are mostly preventable.
In December 2014, the NTSB took steps to try and learn more about tire risks that were discovered in the subsequent accident investigation after each of the incidents. This was designed to garner opinions from experts on what caused the tire failure. The investigation showed that the following were areas of concern — tire registration and safety recall system, a failure to come to a level at which there is a rise in crash risk because of older tires and an absence of information provided to consumers, poor tire maintenance by drivers and an inability for there to be innovations to reduce or stop crashes that happened because of tire issues.
While the NTSB is trying to find ways to reduce accidents because of tire issues, that does not help those who suffered serious injury and incurred the accompanying medical expenses in an auto accident due to faulty tires. Speaking to a legal professional about how to pursue compensation after having been injured in a car accident can yield information as to how to pursue a case due to flaws with tires.
Source: ntsb.gov, “Special Investigation Report on Selected Issues in Passenger Vehicle Tire Safety,” accessed on Dec. 15, 2015
