A car tire puncture is one of the setbacks that most drivers have ever experienced. Despite the fact that the quality of the tires has improved in recent years, no one is safe from a puncture forcing them to make a stop along the way to change it for another that is in good condition. Driving with a flat tire has a series of negative consequences that affect the safety, functionality and useful life of the tyre.
Although it is possible that when you suffer a puncture in the tire at first we do not notice it, we do have to take into account that we are in danger because the car may lose stability. The situation becomes more unsafe if we are driving on a highway at high speed or in a curve, since it will be more difficult to control the trajectory of the car. For this reason, in order to minimize the risks in the event of an accident, it is advisable to keep the four tires in good condition, as well as the spare wheel, since they deteriorate over time.
The danger of driving with a flat tire will depend on the tire that is affected and also on the type of traction the car has: front, total or rear. The combination of both factors will tell us which wheel can put us in a situation of greater danger if we suffer this type of incident on the road.
Most of the cars that circulate on the roads of our country are front-wheel drive. In this type of vehicle, the least dangerous thing is that the puncture is in a rear wheel, since by slowing down when we realize the accident we are transferring the weight of the car to the front axle. In this way, the vehicle maintains the direction, which will allow us to reduce speed until we stop at a point on the road that does not hinder other users.
On the other hand, if the damaged wheel were the left front, the danger would be much greater. On the one hand, it is much more difficult to control the car and, on the other, there would be the risk of invading the opposite lane -if we are driving on a two-way road- with the consequent danger of colliding with other vehicles.
In this case, when the power of the engine is transmitted to the rear wheels, the most dangerous thing for road safety is a rear wheel puncture. Right away we are going to check how the car tends to go to the opposite side of the tire that has been punctured and it is more difficult to follow the line.
On the contrary, when the blowout occurs in a front wheel, the situation is not as tense for the simple reason that we are more used to correcting understeer -when a car goes off the nose- than oversteer -when a car goes downhill. the back part-.
Rear-wheel drive cars, also known as 4x4s, are those in which the engine sends power to all four wheels. They are vehicles specially designed to drive ‘off road’ or on alternative routes without getting stuck, so they are usually safer to drive under adverse weather conditions. In this case, when suffering a puncture, the impact on the stability of the car is less because the force of the engine is transmitted to all wheels equally.
At the time of the accident, the car maintains traction on the opposite wheel to the one that suffered the puncture. At the same time, it instantly transmits the force to the other axle, thereby reducing the dangerous situation more than in cases where the vehicle is only front or rear wheel drive. Despite everything, it is advisable to slow down and stop the car in a safe place to replace the tire.
The General Regulation of Vehicles stipulates in annex XII that all motor vehicles that are circulating must carry “a complete spare wheel or a wheel for temporary use, with the necessary tools for changing wheels, or an alternative system to change of the same that offers sufficient guarantees for the mobility of the vehicleâ€. This means that it is allowed to carry an anti-puncture kit consisting of a spray and a compressor to repair the tire.
The RACE recommends that drivers carry a spare tire of the same width as the ones on the car. This makes it possible to replace the damaged wheel with another with the same characteristics. When it is not possible to use a spare wheel with the same characteristics but a biscuit wheel, we must take into account that we cannot exceed 80 km/h. This wheel, which is small in size to save space in the trunk, allows us to drive to a workshop to replace or repair the affected tire.
The motoring club points out in its blog that the anti-puncture kit is the least recommended and effective option because the tire can be used again and must be replaced by another. It is only used to get out of an emergency situation. It is the same thing that happens with runflat wheels, which are tires that lose air very little by little and that allow you to travel a distance of up to 100 kilometers.
