Don’t forget to check your nuts
There are a lot of things we have to be responsible for in our lives. It’s about becoming an adult really. I’ve listened to my kids about how they have a difficult time with becoming an adult. They’re still working on it. Everyone has gone through this at some point and driving happens to be one of those adult tasks we all have to work on, whether you like it or not.
A tragedy happened recently when the wheel of a trailer came off while the driver was towing it and that wheel came through the windshield of another vehicle. The passenger was basically fine, but the driver was killed. Such a tragedy for sure, and we hear of wheels coming off of a variety of vehicles.
If you watch or listen to the news, you will find more wheels coming off typical passenger vehicles. Some may think it’s just commercial vehicles that have this happen, but that’s not the case. Although it may not happen often, it can be avoided.
Some of the flying wheels can be predicted. It may happen more often when the winter tires get swapped for summer tires and when summer tires get swapped for winter tires. It’s always recommended to have the lug nuts re-torqued – checked to determine if they remain tight – after you have driven 50 to 100 km after the tire swap. This is because some lug nuts may have loosened. Whether you do it yourself or take it back to the shop that did the swap, it should be done. If you don’t and a wheel does come off, you are responsible for it. Even if you are not the vehicle owner or did the swap. It’s part of being an adult. Sorry.
Where I live in Ontario Canada, as well as in many other jurisdictions, we have laws that regulate rules and charge both the driver and the company if it is a commercial vehicle. The driver could be charged with an offence of operating an unsafe vehicle under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act (HTA), Section 84 to be exact.
If you’re the driver of a commercial vehicle and a wheel became detached from the vehicle, Section 84.1 of Ontario’s HTA states the driver of the commercial vehicle and the owner of the vehicle have committed an offence. As an example, if a commercial vehicle loses a wheel from the trailer portion, the trucking company and the tractor-trailer owner are both liable. The legislation says a wheel loss is a definite offence.
As far as a typical passenger vehicle goes, if a wheel does come off immediately after a garage rotates your 
vehicle’s tires, you could be off the hook. Well, sort of. The mechanic and the repair shop could be directly responsible when a wheel comes off the vehicle and strikes something or someone. They may be charged under Section 84.3(1,2) of Ontario’s HTA. However, the driver may also be charged and often is, but it could be argued that the service provider who changed the tire is clearly to blame. You may still receive the ticket at the scene of the incident. You’ll have to fight that with proof of receipt to have the charge dismissed in many places.
However, if you replaced your own flat tire with a spare tire at the side of the road and it flew off later, you could face multiple charges, both as the driver involved and as the person who completed the improper tire exchange. The moral of the story is don’t forget to check your nuts.