NTSB to reconsider policy for old tires amid safety concerns

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Before you hit the road this thanksgiving, we have an important warning tonight that could save your life. How old are the tires on your vehicle? You may remember when you purchased them, but their age could be a lot older than you think.

Depending on the age of your tires, you may be putting yourself and loved ones at risk... every time you get behind the wheel. And you have to know what you are looking for in order to crack the code.

Pablo Ruvalcaba was driving with his family last year, when he suddenly lost control of his SUV. Through a translator, he told us what happened that day.

"A tire burst, on my truck," he said.

The SUV flipped, totaling the vehicle. His wife of 27 years and mother of their 3 children was in the passenger seat next to him.

"And my wife was dead inside the truck," he said.

Ruvalcaba says he purchased this tire just days before the accident.

"Sixty or 70 percent of the tread came off at the time of the crash," Ruvalcaba's attorney Rob Ammons said.

Ammons says the tire failed, causing the fatal accident. The tire was nearly 15 years old. But Ruvalcaba believed the tire was new, based on the tread on it.

"There was absolutely no way for the consumer to really know, when you have a tire with this much tread, that the tire is an old tire," Ammons said.

Ammons has been handling cases like this for nearly 20 years. He says when a tire is exposed to oxygen and heat for long periods of time, the elements inside break down, which could lead to a tread separation and tire failure.

Right now, most manufacturers recommend tires should be replaced every 10 years. But Ammons says 10 years is too old, and wants the National Transportation Safety Board to re-evaluate those numbers.

"We're hoping that the NTSB takes a conservative approach, an approach that is pro-safety, and adopts a six year recommendation," he said.

So how easy is it for older tires to make it on to your car? Well, if you're buying used tires, the odds are pretty good. We bought these tires at used tire shops all around Houston and learned one was made in 2005 -- nine years ago.

To identify a tire's age, Ammons says it takes a little code cracking.

"It starts with DOT, is an alpha numerical code, which ends with four numbers," he said.

Those four digits represent the week and year the tire was manufactured. For example, if a tire says 1007, that means it was made in the 10th week of 2007.

But Ammons says these codes are just too difficult for the average driver to read. He wants to see something a lot simpler.

"There's no requirement that they couldn't clearly put the month, and the year when the tire was made," Ammons said.

It's an identification that would have given Ruvalcaba a chance to buy something safer.

One more thing to consider, how old is your spare tire? If you're driving a vehicle where the spare is stored underneath and exposed to the elements, those too are susceptible to deterioration and should be swapped out if they get too old.

The NTSB is scheduled to meet next month in Washington D.C., where it's expected they'll make their recommendations on tire aging and service life.