If you had asked me an hour ago if I thought filling a tire with air was a dangerous activity, you would have been eyed.
I stand corrected.
In September 2005, a man died while repairing a tire in Eshowe, which exploded and fell on his head. In 2016, a 39-year-old mechanic in Ireland died as a result of the explosion of a truck tire he was inflating.
Do a quick Google search and you'll find countless other examples.
Most recently in Durban, this week, when a Ford Ranger bakkie was severely damaged after a tractor tire burst while being filled with air at a service station in Verulam.
Fortunately no one was hurt this time.
Per IOL, Reaction Unit SA director, Prem Balram, says one of his cops was in the area when they heard about the explosion.
"The investigation determined that the driver of the Ford Ranger was in the process of injecting air into a loaded tractor tire behind his furnace when the explosion occurred."
