Tire separation is a huge danger on the roadways, both for personal vehicles and for commercial vehicles.

With personal cars the danger lies in the fact that most people are unaware of how to determine how old their tires are, and that old tires, even with good tread, pose a danger. The service centers that sell old tires to the public are under no such illusion and need to be held accountable for pushing these tires on the unsuspecting public.

With commercial vehicles the danger lies in the fact that some professional drivers will buy old tires because they are cheaper, deliberately ignoring the safety risk.The accidents caused by commercial drivers with bad tires are willful, wanton acts of gross negligence.

When the tire was made. Every tire has a Department of Transportation (DOT) number following the letters on the sidewall. The last four digits determine the week and year the tire was made; for example, the digits 2204 would signify that the tire was made during the 22nd week of 2004. Don’t buy tires more than two years old and replace tires if they are six years old (although manufacturers generally recommend 10 years). For the risk posed by old tires see the excellent ABC News Video Special Report 

Tire manufactures don’t want you to know the age of their product for some reason. The websites they put out show how to "read a tire" but neglect to inform consumers how old the tire is. See: Goodyear, Perelli, or Michelin to name just a few.