Tires explode on Vietnam expressway as road temperatures reach 63 C: police

The traffic police department under the Ministry of Public Security on Thursday said 12 cases of ruptured tires have been recorded on the Cam Lo-La Son expressway, which runs through Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces, within the first four days of April.

Traffic police said the cause might have been due to hot sunny days in Quang Tri which drove temperatures on the road surface up to 63 degrees.

The expressway also does not have resting stations, forcing the tires to work continuously, leading to heightened internal pressure and eventual ruptures.

Tire experts however said ruptured tires due to high heat typically only happen to low-quality tires, which have to stay on the road for long periods of time while carrying heavy weight, and are not replaced frequently enough.

Well-maintained tires are difficult to rupture due to hot road surfaces, unless they are pumped with too much air.

Tire company Bridgestone said that for every increase of 10 degrees on the road surface, pressure inside tires would increase by 0.1 bar. If temperatures in the morning reach 30 degrees, and increase to 60 degrees at noon, the pressure inside the tires would be increased by 0.3 bar.

This means that a tire with an internal pressure at 2.4 bar would see that pressure increase to 2.7 bar at noon, which is higher than recommended, but not high enough for rupture.

Experts said hot surfaces are not the main cause of tire rupture, but drivers' skills and knowledge. If their vehicles travel on expressways, drivers should evaluate the quality of their tires.

Degraded tires should be replaced, and overly pumped tires deflated, they said.

The patrol team on the Cam Lo-La Son expressway said the unit has deployed measures to maintain safety on the route.

The Cam Lo-La Son expressway spans over 100 km and has no stops.