To think people must be deliberately throwing nails in the road?

[LadyCatNap]

I’ve got another tyre with a nail in it which needs replacing. This seems to be so common as everyone I know seems to have this happen at least every 1-2 years. These are people living in different UK cities so I don’t think I have an enemy doing it to me on purpose 😀.

It’s always a nail. I’ve hardly ever had to replace a tyre due to general wear and tear. I’m sure I don’t remember my dad having to do this when I was growing up. So there must be a reason there are so many nails on the road? There are always road works going on but I don’t see how they would require nails. Are tyre companies throwing them on the roads to make more sales? Where are they coming from?

A friend had this in West Kent, are you in that area at all? It's dangerous!

I feel your pain. The roads are in terrible condition round us. I have had 3 punctures on my bike and one in my car in the last 6 weeks or so. Glass and potholes are the main culprits round here but I have seen nails and screws on the road.

We always seem to be picking up nails and screws. Maybe a couple a year. It's an absolute expensive nightmare

I've had 4 screws in mine in the last 6 months, but I do visit a couple of industrial estates v regularly so I assume I'm picking them up there. Annoying.

I can remember this happening in the 1960s.

I’ve had this happen a couple of times over the last 2-3 years. On both occasions my tyre was repaired and the cost was very reasonable. I does seem suspicious that a shiny new nail was the culprit on both occasions.

The roads are rarely swept these days whereas they used to be very regularly cleaned.

Does it definitely need replacing? I often had mine repaired at a fraction of the cost of a replacement.

I'm sure it was coincidence, but I only discovered they could be repaired when I stopped going to Kwik Fit... 🤔

It does make you wonder. We've had this loads over the last few years - NW England.

We had a spate of these some years ago.

My best guess was that somewhere we were driving there had been a lot of work on a house and nails and screws had been dropped. There's a heck of a lot of new building going on in some areas, might that apply where you are OP.

There's a notorious nail thrower in Burton on Trent.

Yes same here, Qwik Fit always say they need to be replaced but the local place will often repair for a fraction of the cost.

Well I’ve had it replaced now, it wasn’t Kwick Fit. Maybe I should try somewhere else next time.

If it is in the tread of the tyre it can generally be replaced (there are other factors), if it is in the wall then it can't.

I've had two in a week a couple of weeks ago.

Was it pumped up properly ?

Sometimes if they are low in pressure it makes them less resistant to puncture.

I used to have a car that had a slow leak, some problem with the alloy where it met the tyre and that tyre punctured a few times, probably because it was lower pressure.

Is it the same wheel ?

I've got a brand new car, took ownership in June this year. Within 6 weeks I had a slow puncture & found a screw in the rear tyre
Tyre couldn't be saved because of where the screw was, so I had to fork out £250 for a new one. Good job I had tyre insurance.
I literally get punctures every couple of years, it's so annoying. I assume it's all the building works going on in my county tbh 🤨

I saw a post on Reddit this week from someone saying they saw someone deliberately throw a box of tacks (or similar) all over the road and cycle lane on Leith walk in Edinburgh

I stopped cycling where I live as I was getting punctures several times a week and got so sick of it. Now the same thing happens when I drive although at least I drive a lot less (but new tyres cost a LOT more!)

The state of the roads where I live in inner East London is disgusting. The roads are full of broken glass and nails.

I have had 5 nails in my tyres this year, it's driving me mad!

Lack of road sweeping is a good point. I cycle a 20 mile commute to work three times a week and although my punctures are mainly pinch flats from going into pot holes that I can't see, the amount of glass, nails, screws, bits of wire etc I see in the gutter is ridiculous. I suspect a lot comes from overloaded skips and open backed trade vehicles - there's certainly a lot of crap on the road on the mile just before a skip place and then later on a big new inner city development.