Last Wednesday, we fetched Tepsie at the airport. We drove the van to Phoenix the second time since the last tire-blow-out episode. I insisted that we drive the other car because I didn’t feel safe in the van after the last incident but my husband thought that the truck was too cramped for us four, so was Lexie’s car. Therefore, we had no other choice but to drive the van.

I was praying hard that nothing would happen on our drive to and from Phoenix. My husband was driving cautiously a little below the speed limit. Fortunately, we made it to the Valley safe and unharmed. We deliberately drove to the airport half an hour late for Tepsie’s scheduled arrival so we didn’t have to wait long for her. It turned out that the plane arrived half an hour early so she waited in the baggage claim area for some time, worried that something bad might have happened on us.

When she saw Lexie and me coming, she was so happy and excited.

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From the airport, we went to order some food for Tepsie at Best of Hongkong Dining in Phoenix. She was insanely hungry!

Then we proceeded home. We were going downhill on Beeline Highway driving at a speed below the speed limit, and all three of us tuned in to music, when I heard a big thump. Oh my, I couldn’t believe it was happening again. We had another tire blowout and this time it was the front tire. I was terrified and in disbelief! Our van started careening from side to side. My husband yelled, “Hang on! Hang on! There was a big drop off to our left, I thought for a moment, we would end up down the ravine, but my husband managed to maneuver the vehicle to the shoulder. And lucky, there weren’t any cars close to us when this happened or there could have been a collision.

The three of us; S, Tepsie, and me came out of the vehicle and stood dumbfounded at the sight of the vehicle. “This is not supposed to happen again,” I remarked. We just had a tire blowout three weeks ago. Were the tires installed in our van defective? Something is wrong. At that instant, my husband thought of suing the company. Hey, my whole family could have been killed, why not?

My husband started changing the tire with lots of help from Tepsie, while I was flagging some kind of colorful cloth to caution the motorists to slow down. Our car barely fit the shoulder of the highway. It did the trick! Most motorists got the message and moved to the left lane to give us more room. Suddenly, a guy driving a slow moving van stopped and offered help. Although we already got everything under control, we accepted his offer and let him help us. He hauled the wrecked tire into the back of our vehicle. Once he noticed that he was not needed anymore, he got in his car and continued on his journey. We thanked him for his act of kindness.

The following day, we brought the van to the dealer, and demanded a set of upgraded tires from a different brand. They didn’t give us a hard time and agreed to our wishes as if they knew what was going on. We also asked that we are compensated for the damages our van sustained. Unfortunately, this will take a little time and will require heaps of paperwork.

Fortunately, our four tires are brand new again; unfortunately, I have to drive the van around town in such an embarrassing condition for who knows how long. People will probably think that I am some kind of reckless driver. Yesterday, I showed the damages to a friend of mine at work. She was shocked to see it! I explained to her what happened. She suggested that I look the cooper tire up on the internet because she thought that there might be a lawsuit against them. Brilliant idea!

I didn’t realize there were lawsuits after lawsuits against Cooper Tires. http://www.onlinelawyersource.com/cooper_tires/problems.html

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