Almost 20 cars get flat tires on stretch of I-405 Tuesday morning

Nearly 20 drivers reported flat tires early Tuesday morning traveling southbound on I-405 near Northeast 116th Street. Washington State Department of Transporation (WSDOT) originally suspected unknown debris from an unsecured load as the cause.

About 20 cars have reported flat tires on SB I-405 near NE 116th Street. We suspect unknown debris from a load that was NOT secured. Another reason why securing your property to your vehicle is a MUST. pic.twitter.com/M5KqmGEAdB

— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) February 11, 2020

Tracy Taylor reached out to Trooper Rick Johnson for more information following the incident on Twitter. Johnson could not confirm the type of debris that caused the flat tires, although KIRO Radio traffic reporter Chris Sullivan later was able to confirm that it was metal from the back of a truck.

Trooper Johnson also reminded drivers to secure their loads, lest we see a repeat of Tuesday morning’s incident.

Washington state troopers are targeting unsecured loads

There were no reported injuries and the debris has been cleared. The cars were not blocking traffic.

As for who’s at fault, “this kind of thing is on the driver who didn’t secure their load,” WSDOT said on Twitter.

House Bill 2186, introduced in January, concerns debris escaping from vehicles on public highways, amending the existing laws to require any vehicle on public roads to secure and cover its load. According to existing law, if vehicles have “six inches of freeboard” within the bed, the load does not have to be covered.

New bill would crack down on uncovered loads, flying debris

“It’s passed time to cover that loophole,” bill sponsor Rep. Christine Kilduff told the House Transportation Committee in January. “To avert further injury, avert further accidents, keep our roadways as safe as possible, and let’s have the folks that really should be bearing the cost of transporting these loads, not drivers or vehicle owners and not the traveling public.”