On February 7, driver Bui Quang De from Thai Binh shared with Dan Tri that he was still quite shaken when recounting the incident where his car’s tire burst after hitting a failed expansion joint on the National Highway 45 – Nghi Son Expressway, which occurred on February 6.
“Since yesterday, I’ve received many inquiries from people. I’m fortunate to be safe after the accident. At high speeds, encountering such a situation is like falling into a trap,” said Driver De.
Moments after the driver’s vehicle hit the failed expansion joint on the expressway (Video: Quang De).
Recalling the moment of the accident, Driver De stated that around 5:40 PM on February 6, he was driving his car with license plate 17A-45.xxx on the National Highway 45 – Nghi Son Expressway in the direction of Thanh Hoa to Ninh Binh at a speed of 70-80 km/h.
At kilometer 341+080, passing through Trung Chinh commune, Nong Cong district, Thanh Hoa province, he noticed the expansion joint (a type of iron bar) on the road had come loose but could not avoid it in time.
“At that moment, there were many vehicles on the road. After hitting the expansion joint, I was startled and tried to steer the car off the road. About 500 meters later, I stopped to check and found two tires burst and the rims damaged,” said Driver De.
Just about a minute after the accident, Driver De saw another car hit the expansion joint and blow out its front tire. He attempted to move the expansion joint off the road but it was too heavy and traffic was dense, so he could only manage to push it to the edge.
“I tried my best to move the iron bar to the side of the road but couldn’t succeed. After pulling it for a bit, I had to run back to avoid the vehicles behind me, as staying in the way would have been dangerous. While waiting for the traffic to pass, two more cars had accidents; thinking about it now, I still feel scared,” recounted Driver De.
After witnessing multiple cars suffering tire bursts, Driver De called the hotline of the expressway management unit and requested assistance to tow his vehicle away from the scene.
According to Driver De, his car suffered damage to two tires and two rims, resulting in nearly 20 million Vietnamese Dong in total losses.
“This is a significant amount for me. Although insurance covered part of it, I still had to spend nearly 10 million Dong on repairs. We hope the contractors and investors will provide some support to alleviate the repair costs,” expressed Driver De.
Driver De also mentioned that after posting about the accident on social media, he received numerous comments from other drivers.
“Many people have faced similar situations. This isn’t the first time the expansion joints on the National Highway 45 – Nghi Son Expressway have failed. Previously, a vehicle even suffered complete transmission failure after hitting an expansion joint.
The expressway is still under warranty and only allows a speed of 90 km/h, yet the expansion joints have already failed. If they allow higher speeds in the future, what will happen?” said the driver.
