When sparks fly
New trend for petrol heads hold dangers
Earlier in August this year, Wheels24 reported that a Californian wildfire was reportedly caused by a car driving on its rim. While popular with petrol heads across the world, it is very dangerous. At the same time, what is referred to as truck dragging, causes the same sparks and hence, has the same dangers.
The friction between the rim and the road ignited sparks, which led to a blazing fire that firefighters struggled to bring under control.
The resulting blaze destroyed many acres of forest and damaged homes.
Wheels24 reached out to Arrive Alive and IBF Investigations in South Africa to find out more about the dangers of sparking rims.
Stan Bezuidenhout, forensic collision homicide reconstructionist for IBF Investigations, shares advice:
W24: What are the dangers associated with driving on your car rims?
IBF: Vehicle dynamics and stability is essentially a function of road holding. Road holding, in turn, is a function of friction (the propensity for a vehicle to ''stick'' to the road and not to slide). Wherever the vehicle stability is affected negatively (steel is more slippery than rubber), the risk if a loss of control is increased enormously.
Vehicle stability is also a function of suspension design and wheel (tyre) dynamics. Some of the vehicle stability is derived from the tyre (sidewall) flexibility and the suspension (keeping the tyre in contact with the road). As such, the absence of the tyre (rubber) causes a metal/road interface, which adversely affected road holding. Essentially - driving on rims can expose the driver to enormous danger of losing control. This, in turn exposes other road users to the same risk - if the driver loses control and collides with them.
W24: Regarding the Californian wildfires, can a sparking rim cause a fire?
IBF: Oh absolutely. But it gets more complicated. There are several components that can cause fire. Because there is enormously reduced friction, the wheels will “spin” on the road, and this will cause heat. If the driver wants to keep moving, they would HAVE to keep spinning. The hard-surface friction can heat the wheels to the point of ignition.
The type of wheel also affects this. If it is plain steel, the contact surface will be small, increasing thermo-dynamics and causing the wheels to heat up quickly. If the wheel is an alloy wheel, the material is softer and will cause the wheels to collapse, increasing temperature and the likelihood of fire. Where the wheels are exceeding thermal stability, molten metal (sparks) will fly off and could easily ignite other media, like grass, bush, etc.
W24: What if you drivers have no choice (i.e.: a blowout in an isolated area) but to drive on their car rims? What advice can you share with readers?
IBF: In extreme cases, you might be forced to. Think hijacking, where your wheels have been shot at and are flat. If you keep driving (to safety), your tyres will eventually disintegrate to the point where you will be driving on the rims. But in extreme cases this makes sense - not in general cases.
Imagine driving at night and having a flat tyre. Driving on your rim to the point that flames are coming out (or sparks) will be a bit extreme if you can find or call for help. There is also a substantial difference between driving on ONE flat tyre and driving on TWO or more. If the situation is so dire that you are on four flat tyres, more must have happened. If it is a fear for your life (real - not imagined) driving your efforts, you would surely be forgiven; desperate times, desperate measures.
Being confronted with wildfires
Capetonians will remember the huge blaze that engulfed and destroyed large parts of Table Mountain and surroundings in 2015. With summer and hotter weather on its way, drivers should be aware of the dangers associated with wildfires in SA.
Arrive Alive lists a number of safe driving recommendations in the event of a wildfire, which can also occur in Namibia during these dry periods before the rainy season:
• Check weather conditions of designation and route when planning a trip during the fire season.
• Keep maps of your route and frequent travel destinations in your car, and know at least two ways of getting anywhere.
• Drastically reduce speed, drive carefully and be on full alert when smoke limits visibility.
• If visibility becomes very poor, don’t attempt to drive through thick smoke or flame.
• Put your headlights and hazards on so that you are as visible as possible to other road users.
• If you are caught in your vehicle during a veld fire, your vehicle will provide a good degree of protection.
• Do not leave the vehicle - people have lost their lives by exiting the vehicle, only to be trapped on foot in the open.
• Stay in the vehicle, as low down as you can get, until the fire front has passed, then exit and inspect the vehicle for damage before proceeding.
• If you are in the veld, away from your vehicle, and you see that a fire has started, move away from the fire immediately.
• Never ignore the fire, even if it seems far away - it can quickly become large and engulf you!
• If you feel threatened and you don’t think you can outrun the fire, or if you are surrounded, find a ‘safe zone’.
• A ‘safe zone’ can be an area that has already been burnt, or is completely clear of any fuel that can burn, such as a wide road or an old homestead. The clear area should be as large as possible.
WHEELS24
The friction between the rim and the road ignited sparks, which led to a blazing fire that firefighters struggled to bring under control.
The resulting blaze destroyed many acres of forest and damaged homes.
Wheels24 reached out to Arrive Alive and IBF Investigations in South Africa to find out more about the dangers of sparking rims.
Stan Bezuidenhout, forensic collision homicide reconstructionist for IBF Investigations, shares advice:
W24: What are the dangers associated with driving on your car rims?
IBF: Vehicle dynamics and stability is essentially a function of road holding. Road holding, in turn, is a function of friction (the propensity for a vehicle to ''stick'' to the road and not to slide). Wherever the vehicle stability is affected negatively (steel is more slippery than rubber), the risk if a loss of control is increased enormously.
Vehicle stability is also a function of suspension design and wheel (tyre) dynamics. Some of the vehicle stability is derived from the tyre (sidewall) flexibility and the suspension (keeping the tyre in contact with the road). As such, the absence of the tyre (rubber) causes a metal/road interface, which adversely affected road holding. Essentially - driving on rims can expose the driver to enormous danger of losing control. This, in turn exposes other road users to the same risk - if the driver loses control and collides with them.
W24: Regarding the Californian wildfires, can a sparking rim cause a fire?
IBF: Oh absolutely. But it gets more complicated. There are several components that can cause fire. Because there is enormously reduced friction, the wheels will “spin” on the road, and this will cause heat. If the driver wants to keep moving, they would HAVE to keep spinning. The hard-surface friction can heat the wheels to the point of ignition.
The type of wheel also affects this. If it is plain steel, the contact surface will be small, increasing thermo-dynamics and causing the wheels to heat up quickly. If the wheel is an alloy wheel, the material is softer and will cause the wheels to collapse, increasing temperature and the likelihood of fire. Where the wheels are exceeding thermal stability, molten metal (sparks) will fly off and could easily ignite other media, like grass, bush, etc.
W24: What if you drivers have no choice (i.e.: a blowout in an isolated area) but to drive on their car rims? What advice can you share with readers?
IBF: In extreme cases, you might be forced to. Think hijacking, where your wheels have been shot at and are flat. If you keep driving (to safety), your tyres will eventually disintegrate to the point where you will be driving on the rims. But in extreme cases this makes sense - not in general cases.
Imagine driving at night and having a flat tyre. Driving on your rim to the point that flames are coming out (or sparks) will be a bit extreme if you can find or call for help. There is also a substantial difference between driving on ONE flat tyre and driving on TWO or more. If the situation is so dire that you are on four flat tyres, more must have happened. If it is a fear for your life (real - not imagined) driving your efforts, you would surely be forgiven; desperate times, desperate measures.
Being confronted with wildfires
Capetonians will remember the huge blaze that engulfed and destroyed large parts of Table Mountain and surroundings in 2015. With summer and hotter weather on its way, drivers should be aware of the dangers associated with wildfires in SA.
Arrive Alive lists a number of safe driving recommendations in the event of a wildfire, which can also occur in Namibia during these dry periods before the rainy season:
• Check weather conditions of designation and route when planning a trip during the fire season.
• Keep maps of your route and frequent travel destinations in your car, and know at least two ways of getting anywhere.
• Drastically reduce speed, drive carefully and be on full alert when smoke limits visibility.
• If visibility becomes very poor, don’t attempt to drive through thick smoke or flame.
• Put your headlights and hazards on so that you are as visible as possible to other road users.
• If you are caught in your vehicle during a veld fire, your vehicle will provide a good degree of protection.
• Do not leave the vehicle - people have lost their lives by exiting the vehicle, only to be trapped on foot in the open.
• Stay in the vehicle, as low down as you can get, until the fire front has passed, then exit and inspect the vehicle for damage before proceeding.
• If you are in the veld, away from your vehicle, and you see that a fire has started, move away from the fire immediately.
• Never ignore the fire, even if it seems far away - it can quickly become large and engulf you!
• If you feel threatened and you don’t think you can outrun the fire, or if you are surrounded, find a ‘safe zone’.
• A ‘safe zone’ can be an area that has already been burnt, or is completely clear of any fuel that can burn, such as a wide road or an old homestead. The clear area should be as large as possible.
WHEELS24
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article