A bus in Boynton Beach, Florida lost a tire on a major highway due to a technician’s mistake.
A tire technician working for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. did not put the lug nuts on a Palm Tran bus tire and torque them, causing the tire to fly off its axle and cause crashes on Interstate 95, according to a story from the Palm Beach Post. The story says the technician was districted by a phone call.
Goodyear, which installs and inspects tires and maintains Florida’s Palm Tran buses, is working with the agency to write new rules to keep the problems from happening again.
Under the new rules, Goodyear technicians will be required to write down how tightly the tires are torqued after each installation. The company has also asked that Goodyear purchase lug nut tightness indicators so that torque can be measured by visual observation.