While being over taken by an artic with a 3 axle trailer i noticed a waft of dust and then the middle tyre slipped and came loose.
I flashed and beeped at him (thinking i was being helpful) to try and signal to him but he either didnt notice/care. Then another truck went past and slowed at cab level (i assume telling him). He still carried on.
Ive only got my class 2 and still a newbie so never come across this before but is it safe to carry on or best to pull over there and then?
I’m very lucky in that I’ve never had a tyre let go on the road, however if a tri-axle trailer tyre did, I wouldn’t be anchoring up on the h/s immediately, I’d be looking for at least where the shoulder was extra wide/protected or even crawling to a services if at all possible.
Someone will now quote construction & use bullocks.
IMHO if he was empty and lost the tyre already he would be safer to continue to a better place to stop…I lost one before and never felt a thing.
I drove over a truck tyre on the motorway near Rome last week. That was scary,the van actually took off for a second. Luckily no damage done! 
I had a blowout on the offside centre axle of a fridge at J11 M25 earlier this year, as I was empty I carried on to Clackett Lane, keeping a close eye out for the tyre disintegrating, had it done I would have stopped. When the tyre fitter came out he made the comment that it was nice to see someone with common sense rather than stopping on the hard shoulder and having to cone a lane off etc etc
Incidentally when he removed the tyre it was still in one piece and showed next to no signs of being run flat
Had on go on the middle axle a few years ago on the M1, was fully freighted to 44t, still managed to get the 4-5 miles to Newport Pagnell sevices. Tyre was still in one piece when pull up as well, god knows how though!
BuzzardBoy:
I had a blowout on the offside centre axle of a fridge at J11 M25 earlier this year, as I was empty I carried on to Clackett Lane, keeping a close eye out for the tyre disintegrating, had it done I would have stopped. When the tyre fitter came out he made the comment that it was nice to see someone with common sense rather than stopping on the hard shoulder and having to cone a lane off etc etcIncidentally when he removed the tyre it was still in one piece and showed next to no signs of being run flat
Probably because it was the centre axle, the other two would basically hold it up so it’d be making minimum contact with the road.
Had a drive axle tyre blow out late one night. Crawled along the hard shoulder for a half mile or so until the first slip road. My usual rule is if it’s in any way mobile get it off the motorway. Too many sleepy/inattentive drivers around!
Excellent replies so far.
All I can say is please please please, if you have a blow out, ring either 999 or 0300 123 5000 and get someone to check there isnt any rubber left in the road. So many truckers/caravanners/trailer drivers have blow outs and the first thing they think is ring the RAC without considering their tyre weighing some 20kg is led in the road.
Thanks
I had a rear tyre o/s blow out on a coach, at 70mph in the third lane on the top of the Thelwall Viaduct, took the wheel arch trim with it. Made a hell of a bang, blew a hole in the side of the tyre. I managed to get over to the nearside lane, no hard shoulder, and get onto the exit slip road where I stopped and rang on the emergency phone.
Someone from a local coach company came out to me in a van and I followed him to his depot. Drove straight up onto the ramp, they changed the wheel and sent me on my way, the passengers sat there eating their sandwiches while all this was going on.
Ilona
I would try to avoid driving on the rim, unless it was absolutely necessary, but anyway much of the damage caused to lights, mudwings and bodywork is done by the flapping rubber before it lets go in a bid for freedom
I had a blowout on the M6 south last Friday morning by corley services, 8 wheel tipper, it was the 4th axle outside n/s tyre that went.
I pulled onto the h/s and inspected the damage, obviously tyre was fubar’d as was my back light and No plate.
I didn’t fancy staying where I was so I thought I’d limp it to J3 exit slip, I drove along the h/s at 30mph with my beacons going and ran over some debris and got a puncture in the n/s 2nd steer. 
Made it to the slip though and the fitter was grateful of the slower traffic.
Wheel Nut:
I would try to avoid driving on the rim, unless it was absolutely necessary, but anyway much of the damage caused to lights, mudwings and bodywork is done by the flapping rubber before it lets go in a bid for freedom
I’ve never seen one that’s not let go through the side wall, usually due to underinflation or more rarely corrosion. Not necessarily poor maintenance might have developed a slow on route.
I would slow down and limp on to the next services if close or nearest slip and look for a layby for the safety of tyre man.
I lost the middle near-side inside on Tuesday night on M5 - blew out a big flap of side-wall. I did stop on H/S to check it wasn’t going to do a load of damage, and then limped to J10.
Apologies to the guy trying to sleep in the layby with a flat full of aluminimum billets in front of me - me and Mr ATS weren’t the quiestest as we beat seven bells out of everything trying to get the inside wheel off the brake drum.
I wouldn’t continue after a blowout without having a look at what’s happened, but also I wouldn’t wait on the H/S if I didn’t have to, either.
The fact that ATS, AA Truck and every other 24h tyre fitter in Cheltenham / Gloucester told us to get lost because we didn’t have an account also came as a bit of a surprise. We eventually got ATS out on someone else’s account, but it’s a caution to O/Ds running around thinking you’ll just get the credit card out (Harry?) if you have a problem - you might find that no-one will take it when you need them to.
was going to work in my car couple of month’s ago, single carrage way, it was a N/S/F blow out at about 50mph going around a L/H bend, i was only 500yard’s from work, so ■■■■ that the tyre was at 2mm of tread. so slowed down to 15mph with the hazard’s going and got to work with the manager wondering what the ■■■■ that noise was 
A blow out can be quite alarming for a few seconds if the driver is aware of it and then your mind turns to what to do next considering the situation your in, as most have already said if getting off the motorway is the safer, quicker option that’s better all round. Carrying on at the same speed to go alot further could then make it dangerous for other traffic when the tyre decides to break up. I’ve been alongside a super single going off on a trailer when passing an artic on the motorway, you really do feel that 100+ PSI and the noise of course, not to mention the bits and pieces coming off, certainly stops you daydreaming!
Much more dangerous is the tyre that has been re-inflated after a slow puncture, especially if it has been run flat even for a short distance. We know this shouldn’t happen but not everybody understands the dangers of this. I had brought a vehicle into the workshop last knockings for service the next day and in the morning the inner rear tyre was almost flat, our Apprentice noticed this and saw the valve was slightly damaged, thinking this was the problem he replaced the end valve and re-inflated it, he was busy with this when I asked what the problem was, he explained but I wasn’t happy, he had got about 80psi back in but I told him to leave it and I’d get the Tyre Fitters to check it out.
More than half an hour later the tyre went bang, fortunately with it being an inner, most of the pressure went into the pit although shattering two of the long pit lights and I’m sure filling the pants of the young lad. Turns out on inspection the tyre may have been run flat on a couple of occasions and re-inflated by the driver although there was adamant rejection of this as you would expect! Anyone near to that tyre at the time could have been badly injured, without alarming him I’d previously gave the apprentice a job on the front end of the motor out of harms way. We now never re-inflate a tyre under 10psi of the full pressure without it being checked. Cheers Franky.
Wheel Nut:
I would try to avoid driving on the rim, unless it was absolutely necessary, but anyway much of the damage caused to lights, mudwings and bodywork is done by the flapping rubber before it lets go in a bid for freedom
This.
I go out in the service van to blow outs regulary.
Not to change the tyre, they call tyre fitters out for that.
But to repair or replace the wheel arch/wing stays/lights/airbags/chambers that have been rovved to bits by the flapping tyre.
Sure, if the tyre is in one piece, keep her steaming up to the services.
But if it’s flapping, you’ll only make things worse by carrying on.
About twelve months ago, I was being overtaken on the M6 by a Scania 6x2 pulling a trailer, fully loaded so all axles down. He was just about far enough to be flashed in when I heard an almightly boom and a load of stuff hitting the windscreen. The passenger side tyre on the midlift had let go, showering and scaring the hell out of me so god knows what it did to him. Hazards came on so I braked and flashed him in, he went straight across to the H/S. The annoying bit for him, we were 300 yards passed the exit slip for Southwaite Services.
Don’t know what he did, but it didn’t half make me jump!
Some time ago on a Friday night about 9-30pm i am coming over the M62 from Deeside to Grimsby and i am tired, i’ve plenty of time left but i’ts been a hard week so i decide to pull into Brighouse and park near the flour mills, a pint some fish and chips and run in Sat morning, no problem.
I’ve passed the weighbridge at junction 24 and i’m just coasting down the drag at about 50mph, window wide open to get the draught on my face and i’m driving on auto pilot when a Tankfreight starts to overtake me and gets his trailer wheels level with me and then Boom the rear super single lets go and yes there is dust and rubber and ■■■■ every where and i am bloody wide awake and trembling.
I missed the slip road into Brighouse, i didnt fancy Hartshead Moor so i drove home and when i parked up i could have quite easily have turned round and gone back. Adrenalin is powerful stuff.