VEHICLE TYRE & WHEEL DAMAGE
With every vehicle accident, there will have been tyres on the vehicle in contact with the road. After the accident it may be noticed there is tyre damage. It needs to be determined whether this is damage that existed before the accident or was a result of the accident. If it existed before the accident, investigation is still required to determine if it was the cause of the accident or was coincidental damage.
Forensic Services vehicle engineers carry out such examinations. The photographs that follow were all a result of examinations request of Forensic Services following accidents.

A truck carrying palm fruit had an accident when a tyre burst. There was total loss of pressure in the tyre and the gouge in the road can be seen where the rim was in contact.

A truck carrying palm fruit had an accident when a tyre burst. There was total loss of pressure in the tyre and the gouge in the road can be seen where the rim was in contact.


The wheel rim has contacted a hard object and portion has broken away. This is only possible when the tyre is grossly under-inflated. The tyre had next to no tread over the inside and outside of the tyre width, a condition symptomatic of long hours of driving in an under-inflated condition.
A tyre tube that had lost its pressure as a result of rubbing against the internal wall of the rim.


A tyre tube that had lost its pressure as a result of rubbing against the internal wall of the rim.

A tyre with an illegal tread.

A tyre with an illegal tread.
Cracking of the rubber of a tyre as a result of age.


Cracking of the rubber of a tyre as a result of age.

Cracking of the rubber of a tyre as a result of age.

Cracking of the rubber of a tyre as a result of age.
A tyre that had suffered abrasion damage on the sidewall and shoulder to the extent that the reinforcing steel wires were visible.


A tyre that had suffered abrasion damage on the sidewall and shoulder to the extent that the reinforcing steel wires were visible.