Originally Posted By: Ducked
Originally Posted By: Wilhelm_D
Originally Posted By: Ducked
A strangely selective summing up, giving the impression that there are/were no real problems with the systems involved, which my recollection/interpretation, and even your own account of the Explorer episode, suggests is not the case.
In the real world systems, parts of systems, components, and people regularly fail.
Drivers who maintain their vehicles, which the majority of those who experienced blowouts on Explorers did not, who operate them within their design parameters, which many of those who were involved in accidents in Explorers did not, who are properly trained in the operation of their vehicles, which essentially all of those who were involved in accidents after blowouts were not, and who remain calm when faced with a driving emergency aren't generally killed when something fails.
Hmm...A pitch for the primacy of pilot error, then.
I've never had a blowout or a sudden tread separation on a vehicle at speed, but I know that with a standard British drivers licence I'm not trained for such an eventuality, so I don't feel my failure to control it should let a manufacturer off the hook, if their actions or negligence significantly increased its probability.
I'm not trained for unintended acceleration either, but I coped OK when my entirely manual throttle cable jammed. That was one of the reasons I found it suspicious that a California Highway Patrol officer apparently failed to cope with a similar situation in his Lexus.
https://www.forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.php?f=75&t=82442&start=10
Still do.
I have had a blowout at freeway speeds - twice. I've never owned a vehicle with TPMS, so I had to rely on other cues. In both cases the results were less than dramatic. Just sort of a "whump whump" sound, but where the vehicle could still be reasonably controlled by letting off the accelerator and coming to a gentle stop. During the blowout I wasn't accelerating or making a sudden lane change, so I don't know what else might have happened had I reacted differently.
For both cases the tire was gone - shredded in several places but the overall tire still in one complete piece. Both were speed-rated tires - a Dunlop SP Sport D60A2 summer tire, and a Continental ExtremeContact DWS all-season. I believe both had a full nylon caps, so that may have been a factor in the tire remaining in one piece, even though it was clearly not capable of being repaired.