Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

Hi! So I've been having some tire issues lately. A few weeks ago, the light in the car came on, saying the tire pressure was low. I had my boss check my tires out and he found a staple in the tire on the driver's side in the rear. I took her (my car) down to Mazda (where we bought it) and the guy there didn't see the staple -.-

He put air in it for me though, but the next day it was low again. I came home last night and noticed the tire was squishy and looked to be peeling off the rim. I drove her to work today, going between 55-60 mph on the interstate. I kept to the right hand lane and everything was fine.

WELL I got to work and I looked at the problem tire. The outside rim was *burnt* brown, and there looked to be a hole down on the bottom of it. I touched it, and it burnt my fingers! All around the tire, it was so hot!
I've been reading online and everyone is saying that it could explode and cause an awful awful wreck. I live a considerable 21.7 miles away from my work, and a majority of that drive is via I-640/I-75. If you could help me in any way, I would really appreciate it. I am terrified to even drive the thing.

Thank you all!
(ps, I'm a young woman..the last thing I want is to be stranded on the side of the interstate during rush hour traffic, trying to flog down who-knows who. If it does go flat today...is it okay if I call the police? I don't have AAA)

Find a man to put the spare on.

Or watch this.

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Or drive to Mass, buy me dinner, and I'll change it....

What you are describing is simply LIFE. Tires go bad, get flats etc. Just like food left in the fridge, it will go bad FACT of LIFE.

I am not a single female so I dont know what your feeling. But having a wife that changes our cars oil and both of our Motorcycles oil and does all the maintainance on them herself, refuses to even let me help, I sometimes feel like a helpless man when it comes to mechanics because of her.

With that said, IMO EVERYONE that drives a car should know how to change a tire. I dont care if your 16 or 60. Its a simple and bsic thing to do. Sure, its messy and you gotta get the bad tire off and the spair on which could be difficult for someone small framed.

You are right about 1 thing though, tire malfunctions cause accidents, fatalities and at the least can leave you stranded. In all honesty I am suprized your tire hasnt blown already.

Or maybe it has by now.

You can call the Police for ANYTHING, but it doesnt mean we can solve your problem. Will a cop come to your rescue? Maybe one will be willing to change your tire ( In 15 years I have helpes someone a few times) or maybe they will come to your aid when you crash because your tire "blew" while you were driving at "highway" speed.

Just go get a new tire put on, the life you save may not just be your own!

I have two daughters and when they were teenagers, I taught them how to change tires and even change the oil in their cars. Being female is no excuse for being helpless.

I had to continue to sound cold, but maintaining a car goes along with owning it. Check with some tire dealers about getting a used tire if you don't have the money for a new one. It's all part of being an adult and taking care of yourself.

I can't speak for other departments, but we don't change tires. AAA is pretty cheap and they will gladly do it.

I tried to teach my wife to change a tire and found that because of her size, she couldn't get the lug nuts off the wheel. Even putting her entire weight on the tire iron and bouncing up and down, the lug nut wouldn't come off.

That was the day we decided she needed roadside assistance.

My advice to you- either learn how to fix you vehicle, or cough up the money for AAA.

I tried to teach my wife to change a tire and found that because of her size, she couldn't get the lug nuts off the wheel. Even putting her entire weight on the tire iron and bouncing up and down, the lug nut wouldn't come off.

That was the day we decided she needed roadside assistance.

My advice to you- either learn how to fix you vehicle, or cough up the money for AAA.

Get her a good, long breaker bar and I bet she could loosen the lug nuts. But AAA is good too!

I tried to teach my wife to change a tire and found that because of her size, she couldn't get the lug nuts off the wheel. Even putting her entire weight on the tire iron and bouncing up and down, the lug nut wouldn't come off.


I just changed a flat a couple of weeks ago while driving the family in my wife's vehicle - and I struggled a bit while loosening the lug nuts. My wife definitely wouldn't have been able to remove them if it had happened to her while she was alone. I'm thinking about getting a cordless or 12v corded impact wrench + socket for her vehicle...

AAA isn't that much per year and they're pretty good about stuff like that. When my wife was still working, she found a flat tire on her car and called them. They were there in a few minutes and changed the tire quickly. They're worth the money.

We actually do have AAA - I just didn't feel like waiting around for them lol. IIRC you can also get maps from your local AAA office as well as take care of a few particular DMV errands there too. And some places will give a little love (discount) for food or tickets, etc if you show AAA card.

We actually do have AAA - I just didn't feel like waiting around for them lol. IIRC you can also get maps from your local AAA office as well as take care of a few particular DMV errands there too. And some places will give a little love (discount) for food or tickets, etc if you show AAA card.

Oh yeah, I wouldn't wait for them for a flat, but my wife had no problem doing it. I called them a few times years ago when I drove to a park and ride to catch the bus to work. It was dark when I left home and light when I got there. My old P/U didn't have a buzzer to tell me to "turn off the lights, Stupid" so I had to call them for a jump now and then......

Get roadside assistance.

Dads house rule when we learned how to drive: you will leanr how to change a tire. Went for me and my sisters. He would show us in the driveway......take us out driving....pulle over and tell us to change it.........we would drive a little on the spare so we could learn about its limits.....pull over and change it back. By the time they took us for the road test, we were experts. To this day all three of us carry a 4-way lug wrench in our cars because dad said they were better.

Doesn't mean I still don't pay for AAA though!