I was speaking to my friend Leigh May in Atlanta, a great products liability lawyer who has handled a number of defective tire cases with major results, and she was kind enough to review my blog on old and defective tires. She made an excellent point that the spare tire is often overlooked when people change their tires. I have always looked at tire issues from the standpoint of a truck accident attorney and how the tire defect contributed to truck rollovers and loss of control by drivers. However, from my own experience, I can tell you I used to change out all my tires – except the spare – as routine practice! The fact is that by the time the spare is actually used, it is often way beyond its safe shelf life.

The lesson to be learned is that, for safety, when you change out your tires make sure you include the spare! The few extra dollars it costs you to replace a spare tire are worth it to prevent some of the horrible tragedies that Leigh and I have seen over the years.