I remember a trainer(not at UPS) told me a long long time ago when I was training to learn to drive a tractor trailer that when you hear a loud bang in close proximity to you , assume it's a blowout and to increase your speed for the following reasons. It may be one of your steer tires and if it is the left , you will pull to the left and if the right one , you will pull to the right.
But you don't know yet which one it is until you start getting pulled to one side or another. By increasing your speed , you are increasing the vector (physics) and let's call it vector 1, that is pulling you in a straight line. This will help over power the newly added vector(vector2) ( from the blown out tire) that wants to pull you to the side.
So as you increase your speed , you will still feel that pull to the side but less so and now you can start to decelerate knowing which side your truck will try to pull you). And as you decelerate, you are decreasing vector1 which is at a right angle to vector 2 and vector 2 will start to dominate increasingly so proportionate to your deceleration.
But you're prepared because you got over your shock from that noise and the initial shaking of the truck and your focusing on controlling that now known side movement with focused control of that steering wheel.
Your natural tendency after such a startling noise is to let off the accelerator or to even start hitting the brake. That would decrease vector 1 and give vector 2 a chance to take you by surprise .
Now if you accelerated after that noise and you don't feel any pulling to the side, look in the rear view side mirrors for those rotating alligator strips , it might be one of the rear axle tires on the tractor and if so , there is still another good one on the same side of the axle that is keeping you from pulling.
If your trailer tire popped, you would still hear the noise but it wouldn't startle you as much if at all.
Perfessor Pickup is a well traveled Physics lecturer and is the author of The Fun of Physics and I Killed Schrodinger's Cat , available at Amazon and wherever fine books are sold.
