COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Highway Patrol (SCHP) is investigating multiple dump truck accidents that occurred this week.
On Tuesday morning, a dump truck struck an overpass along I-20. That same evening, another dump truck over turned along Two Notch Rd.
On Wednesday afternoon, another dump truck accident occurred, this time striking a business in South Congaree and knocking power out to thousands in that area.
SCHP confirmed that Wednesday's accident was caused by a blown front tire.
News 19 began looking into causes of blown tires. We reached out to tire experts at Discount Tire who explained that you should check your tire's air pressure when they're cool at least once a month, especially before a long trip.
Low pressure leads to poor handling and gas mileage, excessive wear, and overloading. Tires are always losing air due to the impacts and pressures of bumps and turns. Temperature change affects air pressure. So, for every 10 degrees in ambient temperature change, the tire air pressure changes 1 PSI.
According to AAA's website, low pressures "allow tire sidewalls to flex excessively, which generates heat."
While moderate heat accelerates tire tread wear, high heat can lead to loss of tread segments or even blowouts.
More information on summer tire safety can be found here.