Florida Highway Patrol has reported that a Ford Explorer driven by a 39 – year-old-man was in an auto accident on the Florida Turnpike yesterday and the Explorer flipped multiple times.  The cause of the accident was the failure of  the right rear tire.  The driver also had his 5 children with him.

Three of the children (all of them under the age of 13) were not in child-restraint seats and were thrown from the vehicle.  Miraculously none of the children sustained life-threatening injuries.

FHP indicated that worn tires may have been the caused the driver to lose control, resulting in the roll-over.  The tire that blew apparently did not match the other three and one of the front tires was really worn. 

According to the  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

While tire condition is important for all vehicles, it is especially critical for those more prone to rollover when tires fail. That would include sport utility vehicles (SUVs), pickups or other vehicles with a higher center of gravity.

They also said that older tires are more susceptible to stress and recommend that drivers check the age of their tires.  The date of manufacture can be found in the “identification number on the sidewall that begins with the letters “DOT”. The last four digits represent the week and year the tire was manufactured.”

There are alot of television ads these days promoting better gas mileage with properly inflated tires, but the most important reason to have good tires on your vehicle is the safety of you and your family.