A blowout at dual carriageway speed on the A14 means holding the wheel straight and, while control holds, easing off towards the next exit. The replacement follows once you are parked safely.
A tyre that bursts between Catthorpe and Thrapston usually announces itself with a loud report and the steering tugging sideways, often in the middle of lorry traffic heading for Felixstowe. Grip the wheel, avoid braking sharply, let the speed fall away and indicate for the nearest slip road, whether that is Kelmarsh at J2, Barton Seagrave at J10 or the A605 at J13. Hazard lights on, and creep the last stretch if that is what leaving the carriageway takes.
If the car came to rest in a lane and will not go further, get everyone out on the verge side, well back behind any barrier, then dial 999 and National Highways on 0300 123 5000 to be recovered somewhere safe. Once parked away from traffic, send us the size and location. We bring a replacement, fit it, and check the rim for cracks and the tyre on the same axle for heat damage.
Need something else? Our pages on emergency mobile tyre fitting and emergency tyre repair on the A14 explain those jobs.
Burton Latimer streets via the A6 at J10, a Thrapston street off the A605, or a village road off the A5 near Catthorpe are all workable. A lane of the A14, or its verge, never is.
| Road | A14 Catthorpe to Thrapston |
|---|---|
| Operator | National Highways |
What to do after a burst tyre →Burst tyre replacement on the A14 page
A burst near Kettering calls for the next exit if you keep control, not a stop beside the lanes. Leaving along Burton Road, the A6, onto the Burton Latimer Bypass, then into a side road or Furnace Lane Industrial Estate, puts the car somewhere a van can park safely. If the car cannot move, ring 999. Otherwise give us the road number you left, the estate or street name, and the car's colour.
In the seconds after the bang, switch on the hazards and keep steering for the next A14 exit. If the car halts short of it, passengers should leave by the Northamptonshire verge and clamber past the barrier or up the bank; nobody walks the lane edge towards Kettering. Carrying on with the bare rim on tarmac ruins the wheel and can drag the car off line, so stop once clear. With the new tyre on, the fitter examines the rim and the remaining three.
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Burst a tyre on the A14? Get off at a junction, park, then ring us.
