I Lost My Tire!!!!
By betsyraeduke
@betsyraeduke (2669)
United States
December 23, 2007 5:18am CST
Earlier tonight, or actually yesterday as it is now 4am, I was driving home from someone's house.
I got about half way home and my car started shaking and became a little hard to steer. There were also very loud noises coming from the tire.
I thought I had a flat tire so I pulled into the first place I found that had an air pump. However, when I got out of the car and checked, none of the tires were flat. So I looked underneath the car to see if anything was dragging or looked out of place or anything. Nothing did and I don't really know anything about mechanics, so at that point, I had no idea what the problem was.
As it was, I only had about a mile or less to go before I got home by that time anyway. So I decided to just get back in the car, drive it home and have it looked at in the morning.
As I knew that something was definitely wrong, but wasn't sure what, I was driving slow. Well, I got about maybe 100ft. or so down the road when all of a sudden, I hear, BAM! CLUNK! and the front end of my car goes slaming down!
I looked out the window to see my passenger side front tire spinning out and away from my car and go rolling into the ditch a couple yards ahead of me! Yes, guys, my front tire fell completely off my car while I was driving it!!!
Well, to make a long story short,there was no serious damage done to the car or anyone in it and with some help, I managed to get the tire back on and get the car home. I am missing some lugnuts and whatnot though, which I hope to get taken care of today.
However, has this sort of thing ever happened to anyone else? If so, were you embarrassed at the time? And did you think back on the experience afterwards and feel a little shakey, like just thinking of what may had happened had you been driving faster or something?
6 responses
@KrazyKlingon (5005)
• United States
23 Dec 07
I heard of people driving on the road when one of the wheels just abruptly goes flying away from the car. Did you mean the entire wheel went flying? Or just the tire? Something like that can be scary. Just another reason not to go speeding down the road, because you never know what might happen.
Nice avatar, by the way.
@betsyraeduke (2669)
• United States
24 Dec 07
Yup, I meant the entire wheel. Yeah, I'm glad I wasn't going very fast at the time. Thanks
@foxyfire33 (10005)
• United States
23 Dec 07
Nope, can't say I have ever lost a tire...s/o lost one off the race car while he was driving it though. It looked pretty funny from our view point but wasn't very fun for him. The tire came off in turn 3, continued around and bounced off the wall in turn 4 and rolled down into the infield. Meanwhile he saw a tire rolling but didn't immediately know it was his (when he's on the gas the weight transfers to the rear wheels so the car didn't drop right away), he didn't let off the gas til after it bounced of the wall because he didn't want to run over it. That's when the car finally took a nose dive and it dug in and spun the car around. It did break a few things but he was going a lot faster when it happened.
Sounds like your lug nuts came loose on you. I've had that happen before but having experience with race car tires I knew to check them when I felt the wobble. I tightened them back up and went on my way. At least you can count this as a learning experience! Next time you feel that wobble but don't have a flat you'll know what to do.
@academic2 (7000)
• Uganda
23 Dec 07
You were lucky betsy.. that this did not result into the kind of fatality that usually happens when tyres fly off. I met a fatal accident in a similar manner-I still rue over it because that accident changed my life for ever! I thank God you didnt get hurt. Make it a point you do egular service of your car to avoid any such related mishups!
@betsyraeduke (2669)
• United States
23 Dec 07
Thanks. Yes, I know that it could have been far worse than it was. It never occurred to me at the time that the tire may have been lose or to check for that. It is definitely something that I will always make a point of checking from now on though!
@jillmalitz (5131)
• United States
26 Dec 07
That is very unnerving for sure! My husband had that happen to him on a freeway at 65mph in Houston. He was not hurt but he was shook up. A cop stopped to check on him and helped him. Well, I guess that is why racecar drivers pay their crews well! There have been some wrecks cause the lug nuts were not on tightly.
