The Tire Industry Association and Michelin Americas Truck Tires have partnered to create a new training video for truck fleets on wheel-end safety.


The 20-minute video, "Wheel End Safety," is intended to provide maintenance personnel and drivers with installation and inspection guidelines to improve wheel-end performance and safety. It addresses a number of related topics, but the primary focus is to help fleets prevent wheel-off accidents and wheel-end fires.

The video is available as a free download on TIA's website, www.tireindustry.org and on Michelin's website, www.michelintruck.com.

In order to illustrate the danger of a wheel-off incident, TIA worked with Michelin engineers to construct a controlled test at Michelin's Laurens Proving Grounds in South Carolina, where the tire and wheel assemblies could be filmed after they separated from a trailer. After several successful attempts, a parked car was placed in the path so multiple cameras could record the footage. The resulting impact is certain to grab the attention of viewers and demonstrate the seriousness of wheel-off accidents.

In addition to wheel-off and wheel-end fire prevention, "Wheel End Safety" also addresses the dangers of welding on rims and includes dramatic footage that demonstrates the risks to this dangerous practice.