Can you reinvent the wheel?  Apparently you can.

Towards the later half of 2009, Michelin Tire Company released prototype documentation for an airless tire that would replace the commonly found pneumatic tire on most cars.  The photos and video were shown off at the Philadelphia car show a few months ago.

Our products liability attorneys know from experience that poorly manufactured tires can lead to tire blowouts, the root cause many dangerous car accident every single year.  Any time there is a design defect with a tire, it could mean motorists, passengers, and even pedestrians are put at risk for serious personal injury.  At the same time, they are aware that there is an extensive and in-depth history to the wheel we know today. And with that past comes a long relationship between automobile accidents and tire problems.

Do you ever wonder what the road would be like if tire blowouts became a thing of the past?

In 1884, Charles Goodyear created the vulcanized rubber which would later be used in tires, specifically air-filled pneumatic tires for bicycles that were invented by John Dunlop four years later.  It was not until 1895 that cars were first equipped with pneumatic tires by Andre Michelin.  This addition proved to be unsuccessful for Michelin and were his attempt tried today, it could be the catalyst behind a lot of personal injuries.

Around the turn of the century, Goodyear Tire’s employee P.W. Litchfield placed a patent on the first tubeless tire.  Tubeless tires were not be marketed to the public until 1954, by which point mountable rims and carbon infused rubber were added to prevent wear and tear from happening as easily.

As World War II was revving up, the B.F. Goodrich Company took a major step in tire evolution when they created the first synthetic rubber for tires.  The substance, later patented as “Chemigum”, revolutionized the way that tires were mass produced and made them readily available for consumers to add to their automobiles.

Nearly 80 years later the tire is still being reinvented in an effort to make them more durable, less costly, and better at stopping accidents that could lead to wrongful deaths out on the road.  But our the products liability attorneys still feel the need to question what new hazards this will bring, such as:

  • Are there going to be design defects that have not been previously thought of?
  • How will they react in bad weather?
  • Will they break in the same way as other tires or blowout in different ways.

These tires are not even available to be purchased by the mass public yet, so you still have time to decide if they are right for your car.  That said, make sure that whatever tires you have spinning on your vehicle, you also have the best car insurance policy you can afford to keep you and your family safe.

Call us now at 1-858-551-2090 or click here for a free consultation with an experienced products liability attorney and find out how we can help you.  We speak English and Spanish, and we look forward to providing advice for your case.  No fee if no recovery.