My butthole was puckered the entire time reading your story, couldn't imagine having it happen to me personally. Hope everything works out for you.
+1 We had a guy filling up a retread on a trash truck. Fucker blew up on him while he was filling it up, damn near killed him. Usually when they go, they take out the tailights, plate, fenders, and whatever else is in the way. Saving money ain't always saving money.
Be glad you race.. Because otherwise. You would probably be dead if you were just a street squid without the knowledge to not panic. Sorry to hear man but glad you are ok.
Glad yer ok. Had a retread 'gator' bite me on an exit ramp Good Friday morning two years ago. Pickup truck in front of me hit it and kicked it up. As I was rolling and tumbling along, my thought was "get off the track!" since I knew other commuters were right behind me. Luckily they got stopped in time. I have some nifty road rash scars (had jacket and helmet but burned through my Dickies). I had to tell the EMTs to cancel the helicopter call. When I asked them why they scrambled the 'copter, they said it was standard practice - radio calls of "motorcycle down on I-65" don't usually turn out so well. Again, glad you're ok and getting checked out. And add my voice to the retread haters.
My previous employer(I was the Fleet Safety Director) never ran retreads on our trucks but of course we hauled radioactive waste. It just wasn't worth the added risk even though it's a slight risk. OEM tires can shit their carcass too though not quite as intact as retreads. Both are very dangerous for motorcycles and that's why I don't waste any time getting past semi's. If there is a car slowly going around a semi I hold back until they clear so that I can move by faster.
A short tale with a moral. A friend of mine was sitting at a traffic light in Raleigh next to a tire shop on a Saturday morning. He was casually watching a man putting air in a truck tire that was lying on the ground when the 2-piece rim separated. He somewhat less casually watched the rim piece, and the man's head, roll across the intersection. That's why a wise man never inflates a truck tire without a cage.
+1. The failure of a casing rarely has to do with the retread. A virgin, regrooved, or retread with similar miles and similar internal damage have similar chances of exploding during inflation. Never do that shit without a cage. If you havent been in a building when a tire lets loose through a sidewall its an experience. Not far from some serious "bombs" ive seen go off without the combustion of course. Retreads will never be banned, they work too well and are too affordable, and when kept properly inflated and maintaned by the drivers and fleet they rarely fail. Think groceries and goods are expensive now, wait until every fleet is mandated to run virgins, were talking tripling millions of dollars in tire budget, per company. But great save man!! Glad it wasnt one of my tractors! Keep us updated on how the insurance thing goes, I know it doesnt normally turn out like the little guy (you) wants in these situations.
Saw something similar, didn't kill the guy but fucked him up real bad. He was blowing up a split rim with it laying on the floor, leaning over it. It blew and took him straight up, he hit the 14 ft. ceiling then landed in a heap on the floor. Broke a whole bunch of bones and was basicly one big black and blue.
I've had a car tire blow out in front of me (in my truck) and my brother hit a blown out tread on the interstate in the middle of the road. I always either stay way back or get in front of semi's super quick. If it's not a tire blowing out it's a 50' trailer swaying that gets me sweating.
The vast majority of big truck blowouts (whether retread or not) are due to tires being run underinflated.
I've had trailer tires lose their tread - and they were absolutely brand new not retreads. It can happen to any tire. Around here the ladders are more dangerous than tire treads. Well, and the mattresses, and couches, and occasional recliner....