Changing a car tyre on the hard shoulder.

[smutchin]

Here is some very good advice:

They deserve a prize for the acronym alone.

 

[smutchin]

Although a lot folks think that Americans are really stupid there's a rule over there in a few states (don't know how many) whereby if a vehicle is one the hard shoulder you can't use the near side lane as you pass by.

I've noticed recently when driving on smart motorways that they often close the nearside lane when there's a breakdown or other obstruction on the hard shoulder. Not that everyone observes the lane closure, or the reduced speed limit that usually accompanies it. But that's because they're peanuts.

 

[NorthernDave]

Who drives with one wheel in the hard shoulder?

You'd be surprised! Lane discipline in general is poor on most roads and motorways are the worst of the lot in my experience. Hopefully the increasing fitment of things like Lane Keep Assist might start to redress this.

I've got run flats on my car and I'm trying to persuade Mr R to change his to run flats as well. There's no way I'd change a wheel on a motorway hard shoulder.

You sound like you've already looked into this, but just be wary that some run flats can ruin the ride on the car due to the increased stiffness of the sidewalls. The tyres are better than when they were first introduced, but unless you spend a lot of time on motorways it might be a compromise too far?

 

[mjr]

You sound like you've already looked into this, but just be wary that some run flats can ruin the ride on the car due to the increased stiffness of the sidewalls. The tyres are better than when they were first introduced, but unless you spend a lot of time on motorways it might be a compromise too far?

Marathon Plus for cars

 

[NorthernDave]

I drive a BMW 5 Series. The ride is superb (whether in the Comfort or the Sport setting).

I do a lot of motorway miles and the standard of driving I see on a regular basis is part of the reason for ensuring that I don't have to put myself in harm's way changing wheels....

The 5-series suspension (and all BMWs, as far as I know) is specifically set up for run flats, as they're what are fitted as standard.
I'm thinking more about fitting run flats to a car that has suspension set up for traditional tyres where the small degree of 'give' in the sidewall is part of the damping.

BTW, I fully agree with you about the dangers of changing a tyre at the side of the motorway (or a lot of other roads)

 

[swansonj]

How often do you guys reckon to get punctures, that this becomes a significant issue?

I think I've had one puncture that I can remember in the last 20 years/c. 200000 miles of driving. And that was slow rather than catastrophic. Is my experience that unusual?

 

[NorthernDave]

How often do you guys reckon to get punctures, that this becomes a significant issue?

I think I've had one puncture that I can remember in the last 20 years/c. 200000 miles of driving. And that was slow rather than catastrophic. Is my experience that unusual?

Without wanting to tempt fate, punctures on modern car tyres are a much rarer event than they once were. However if you get one, you get one.

Another problem now is that a lot of cars have done away with the spare wheel / tyre and either use run flats or supply a can of aerosol puncture fixing gunk (which has a use before date) which don't cover every eventuality.

 

[Nigeyy]

I once had a run of very bad luck with punctures: within a year 4 punctures (3 different cars, 2 countries, all different roads at different times). I was that exasperated I did buy puncture resistant tyres. And yes, tyre pressure was good and tyres in reasonable shape. Of course I haven't had a puncture now in over 18 years (though my daughter was driving recently and ran over an e-cigarette and got a puncture, but I'm not counting that as I wasn't driving).

How often do you guys reckon to get punctures, that this becomes a significant issue?

I think I've had one puncture that I can remember in the last 20 years/c. 200000 miles of driving. And that was slow rather than catastrophic. Is my experience that unusual?

 

[screenman]

Without wanting to tempt fate, punctures on modern car tyres are a much rarer event than they once were. However if you get one, you get one.

Another problem now is that a lot of cars have done away with the spare wheel / tyre and either use run flats or supply a can of aerosol puncture fixing gunk (which has a use before date) which don't cover every eventuality.

Great for tubeless bike tyre's after that use by date though.

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

Blimey, do we have any.

After you get off the M180, and enjoy the festival of noise and bounciness that is the A180, pretty much any minor road is treated by many as a motorway

Off topic - Had to admire the groups of cyclists going North to Grimsby in the fun 'early spring' (i.e. shitty) weather on Saturday! Don't know whether it was a big club run but there were lots of them swimming through the deluge.

 

[oldwheels]

There was a batch of duff valves on Ford Transits a few years ago. I got two flats before I found out the problem. In both cases the tyre was destroyed so no clues from that and the valve failure was initially blamed on badly positioned wheel trims. More recently I got a very large nail in one tyre of my Panda. Tyre write off. Then I got two flats caused by porous wheels on the same Panda. Not badly seated tyres but leaks through the metal of the wheels. Cue trade in before the others went at some inconvenient time. In all cases I got to safe parking before wheel change.

 

[irw]

How often do you guys reckon to get punctures, that this becomes a significant issue?

I think I've had one puncture that I can remember in the last 20 years/c. 200000 miles of driving. And that was slow rather than catastrophic. Is my experience that unusual?

I got one. Whilst travelling about 60-70mph on the M62 this time last year...that was fun- it happened somewhere around about here whilst I was in lane 2 or 3...Having no idea what had actually just happened, I wanted to pull over ASAP...can anyone see the immediate problem?! Ended up actually stopping about here.

Luckily it was late-ish, and traffic was light which allowed for some reasonably swift slowing down and moving over. To quote the AA man who came out, "Usually I'd say get up to speed then rejoin the carriageway, but errr...."

 

[Drago]

Never drive alongside a truck/coach/armoured personnel carrier, until your exit is clear and you can complete the pass in one go. These muppets that hold station alongside lorries have a strange desire to grow wings, sit on clouds, and play a harp.

 

[mjr]

[QUOTE 5140397, member: 9609"]Never seen any stats but it does seem to happen quite a lot, usual scenario; LHD artic moving from lane 1 to lane 2 and not seeing the car in lane 2. Car drivers seem to instinctively know keep away from lorries blind spots when the wagon is to their right, but cars often drive alongside the cabs of lorries when the lorry is to the left, perfectly safe when the wagon is RHD, but if its a LHD it is not a good place to be.
[/QUOTE]
Brown trouser moment on a rare drive yesterday. LHD lorry changed from 1 to 2 as I was level with its back bumper. No blind spot excuse - just crap driving. I think you're giving these drivers far too much benefit of the doubt, similar to the legend that cyclists sneak up the left of long vehicles in huge numbers and it's not the left-hooking that long vehicle drivers attempt on me almost every time I cycle in London.

 

[Tin Pot]

Enjoy!

Look like I forecast the British weather too - got back last night in driving snow, freezing temps over night and snow on the ground today