Hey just my 2 cents. I think the first thing I want to say is that the rim used wasn't the issue. Although that would make for a really cool myth to test for the team. I have seen first hand what a cap will do to a vehicle. I was inpressed at the amount of force and the amount of damage it did to the vehicle. Thankfully for the owner they weren't on a motorcycle. This tread went straight up the hood over the windshield and down the roof crushing everything along the way. Whether it would have taken a persons head off or not I dont know but being behind a truck in the path of a flying cap would hurt. I think it should be revisited putting the rider behind the truck tire and use recaps, that's what leaves them road gators everyone sees. Oh and do a seperate test on split rims killing people.

I remember hearing an insurance adjuster say that there are two primary causes of accidents and injury from truck tires. One is the explosive separation of a hammered-on rim. She saw a sports car with the top cut off, along with the driver's head. The danger is for cars next to the rig.

The other is from the disintegration of a steel belted radial trailer tire - they are retreads. She saw a large piece of tire carcas penetrate a windshield and kill two passengers in the front seat. The danger is for cars behind the rig.

Using a tubeless truck tire is the mistake. I used to work on the split rim tires and this myth is totally true and possible. I have seen them come apart and embed in concrete walls. That is why they are not legal to work on any longer. Too dangerous.

As a footnote, my brother and his friend were riding their motorcycles on the interstate when one blew beside my brothers friend. Luckily, it hit the bike and not him. The evidence is out there.

Some trucks use multi-piece wheels. They have to be disassembled in a cage to keep a steel ring from dimembering or killing people in shop. You would need to use one of these wheels for myth. The steel clip can actually go through a car door, driver, passenger, and out the other side of car if they fail. Not sure if they are still implemented on highway trucks but pretty sure they are still used for heavy equipment. There are many articles on web about these wheels causing deaths.
http://www.labour.gov.sk.ca/tires/

I want this myth revisited. I don't think that they measured the distance that the person would be behind the truck. On the show, it looked WAY too close. My dad used to be an over the road driver so I know some about trucks. I know that the back wheels are a ways under the trailer so for the car window and the person to be as close as they had it, the car would have to practically be right at the back bumper. Ya, some people do drive that close but not most.

I BELEAVE THAT THEY NEED TO PUT WEIGHT IN THE TRAILER TO HELP ADD TO THE PRESSURE, WITCH SHOULD HOPEFULLY HELP THE TIRE EXPLODE AND HOPEFULLY DECAPITATE THE MORTORCYCLE RIDER

In reference to the blown tire. I was driving truck pulling a loaded tri-axle grain trailer. My bearings went out on my rear axle starting a fire. After I was flagged down, and had been stopped for about 5 min. a square chunk on the top of the inside wheel blew out and hit the frame. The piece was about 4 inches square. The poor guy that had his head under the trailer when it went off had ringing ears for two days. I believe had the blown section hit the person under the trailer, he would have at least been severly injured. Probably not de-capitated.

First of all Jamie didnt have to cut the back of the pickup truck off with a torch, there is only six bolts holding it on(5 minutes with impact wrench to remove!) Secondly they have the myth wrong! The myth of decapitation is with the older truck tires that held the wheel on with a metal ring that snapped in a groove. It's the ring that decapitated the person not the tire! That's why the ringed rims were outlawed, HELLO! Thirdly the nightrider going into the back of semi trailer, listen, Its not the inertia of the car but the spinning tires! The car weighs two tons the tire weigh 20 pounds.How are twenty pounds going to sling a 2 ton car up a ramp and crash into back of trailer? Duh! Jamie is a egg head with no engineering in the real world!

A very good episode BUT!!! A maybe not so glaring error on the masters part! When one wheel of a differential is held, the other wheel spins twice as fast as the readout on the speedometer!!!!! This is through the action of the spider gears in the differential. As seen in the first rubber throw, one could see that the right side tire was not turning!! So when Adam was reading out the MPH it was actually twice as fast. So the rubber was travelling at 80 MPH.

The night rider in the back of the truck is documented on film in the early 70's before digital animation. I dont really consider a car being driven into the back of a truck to be a myth! come on.

I have work both sides of this issue. I am a retired police officer and a current long haul truck driver. I have blown a bunch of tires over the last 7 years. Some tires hand-grenade from lack of pressure. Remember, the tires on a fully loaded big truck must support up to 5000 pounds per tire. The steer tires support the most weight and steer loads. Its the weight and the flexing of the tires that causes heat and tire failure. Todays radial tires flex a lot. The tires plys run across the face of the tire rand are thereby radial. The tires belts run longitudinally around the tire. Then there is another set of fabric above the belts called breakers. I was also DOT certified and did big truck inspections. Another poster said that you shud have used a split rim wheel. This will kill anyone in its path, if it separates under pressure, head, arms, legs, all will be forfiet to a split rim separation. Most recap tires I have lost on the road were just casing fatigue. They have to heat and reheat casing to vulcanize a new cap onto a old tire. The rubber dries out and the casing just dies. The tire looses the cap all the way down to the radial plys and you end up witha Friar Tuck. Two rings and noting up the middle. There is mucho energy in the leaving cap. at 70 MPG the tire is spinng about 520 rpm.
Thats alot of rubber going very fast. I have had them tear off mudflap hangers and tear out electrical wires to my lights. They also make a terrific explosion. I have stories.

How can I e-mail jamie or adam to help them with their myths?

i don't think you should go e-mailing neither Jamie or Adam or anyone in the show for that matter...
i just imagine the sizes of their inbox after all the feedback they get from having a worldwide succesful show as Mythbusters...

if you want to add your 2 cents, well that's what this forum is for, innit?

Mi5 industries provide with an adress for everything mythbusters related, but the site doesn't seem to have renewed in a long time so i wouldn't trust it would work ...

I found a few problems with the testing on this one too. It seemed to me that Buster's feet were planted on the ground instead of on the footpegs of the motorcycle. The balance of Buster was much better than if a bike were rolling alongside a truck when the tire blew out because naturally the rider would not have their feet on the ground.I think if this myth was tried again,it would actually prove to be true.

This was a nice try at disproving this FACT.
First of all, there are so many different variables that were implimented into this test, so many that they could do a show on it every day for 5 years and still not cover them all. I too have been a truck driver for over 20 years, and I also worked at Goodyear Dunlop Tires NA LTD as a tire builder, building MTR (Medium Truck Radial) Our normal everyday Semi-Truck Tires. No 2 tires are ever built "exactly" the same. They are assembled by hand using a spining drum and lazer lights as component placement guides. So, I do have experience in both departments of this test.
MUD FLAP THEORY: Mud flaps are mandated to prevent debris from the road from kicking up and hitting winshields and such. A blown tires velocity will be altered some bu a mudflap, but not that much. TREADS: Treads also vary in size and weight, depending on if it is a Drive Tire (Thickest and heaviest), Steer Tire (thick and not as heavy as Drive), or Trailer Tire (Thinest and least weight). A Properly balanced,fully loaded tractor trailer places more friction on the Drive axels, then on trailer axels, and least on Steer axels. This test was done on Trailer axels only. Also, there is less friction and heat made when tested tires or spun on a rubber tire, than a fully loaded unit running on asphalt or concrete roadways. Temperature, tire inflation, speed, vehicle weight, vehicle balance, tire balance, tire wear, etc. all play a roll in this. I am not even going to figure in the split-ring rims of old. There is enough modern situations that can take a 80 lb, 124" slab of rubber rocketing off to do dammage of ANY sort.
Can a blow tire cause decapitation? Most definately, depending on the variables involved. It can take out welded steel, our heads are not welded, nor steel.

Ok, here is my question, since I saw the show right when they lined up the tire to the imobile car window--Is 40 mph the relative velocity, or is it the the velocity that both vehicles are moving? Based upon the First Law of Motion, if both vehicles are moving at the same rate and direction, relative velocity is nil, and only caused by the resistance of the air. It will only look like it's coming at the driver due to wind drag.
Thanks

ok those are all good suggestions but theres one thing missing... what about really worn tires? like so worn its no wonder they don't blow? i've seen the damage they cause its not pretty but when people don't check their tires... lets take a look at car racing... yeah their goin a lot faster and its a different type of tire but when the tire fails it usually rips the fender or whatevers in the way of the rubber flying off.. there are several cases were at 60 mph it does the same amount of damage as 150 mph... if you guys revisit get some worn tires....

Firstly I would like to say that posts keep mentioning that the tyre on the surface of the road is travelling at 0 MPH. While this is obviously true in reference to the road it is not accurate in reference to the tyre (or its actual frame of reference) is actually travelling at rpm x circumference.

Anyhow, I just wanted to mention that in the last 2 years I have had 3 truck tyre retreads de-laminate infront of me on my bike (I ride approx. 1,000km per week in an industrious area) and have done for 15 years). My bike has been damaged (minorly) and I have sported some bruises from this and that was from the smaller pieces!!! I have managed to avoid the larger pieces. I have sure if they hit the right spot the impact alone could even kill.

Another note, retreads are made with steel belts in them. From what I have seen when I piece comes off one, it is actually being flung off at a larger diameter (and higher velocity) as it is held on by the belts.

Definite Yes Been driving truck 23 years had numerous blowouts.
If you dont think it will go through a windsheild you are wrong.
If the exploding tire will rip apart a steel fender on a semi what makes you think it would not rip through a car like a hot knife through peanut butter.
I have had it not only rip a steel fender to shreds but also completely rip a fuel tank off of my truck.
2 factors they didnt consider much a truck fully loaded 80000 pounds of truck and payload.
And heat of a low tire on hot ashphalt in summer when its 100 plus outside and asphalt is already soft.
wish I still had pictures of when I drove a fuel tanker and had a blowout.
It not only ripped my steel fender to shreds but embedded the tire in an aluminum fuel tanker.The tire was still hanging in the metal of the tanker, good thing my fuel truck had just been washed out and cleaned.Although it did have to go right back into the shop for repairs.

I happen to see this myth on tv not long ago and remembered it when I read this newspost on a dutch website:

source: http://www.nu.nl/news/1669789/10/Autoband_doodt_automonteur.html#

***
Autoband doodt automonteur
Uitgegeven: 23 juli 2008 11:32
Laatst gewijzigd: 23 juli 2008 12:19

VEGHEL - Een automonteur is woensdagochtend rond 10.00 uur in het Brabantse Veghel overleden toen de band van een vrachtwagen in zijn gezicht ontplofte. De man stierf ter plaatse aan zijn verwondingen, aldus de politie.

Autoband doodt automonteur

De monteur was bezig de band op een vrachtwagen te zetten toen de band opeens explodeerde. De hulpverleningsdiensten waren snel ter plaatse, maar hulp mocht niet meer baten.

De identiteit van de man is nog niet vrijgegeven. De Arbeidsinspectie stelt een onderzoek in naar het incident.
***

Translated with Babelfish:

***
Tyre kills car mechanic
Spent: 23 July 2008 11:32
Last modified: 23 July 2008 12:19

VEGHEL - a car mechanic Wednesday morning has died around 10.00 in the Brabantine Veghel then the link of a lorry in its face exploded. The man died on the spot to its wounds, thus the police force.

Tyre kills car mechanic

The fitter was busy the link on a lorry then put the link suddenly exploded. The assistance services were rapidly on the spot, but aid could no longer avail.

The identity of the man has been not yet released. The Labour Inspectorate puts a research in to the incident.
***

In short:

A carmechanic died while fitting a lorry tire when it exploded into his face.
Not much more information released yet.

I thought it was nice to share

Cheers,
Viper®