[elhigh]

^^
My modest pickup straddles nearly 9" of air and I won't go over a truck tire tread if I can avoid it. Hitting one is like hitting a dog, it's too damned solid and heavy to be negligible. Running over one with any of my other vehicles would just bring me to a halt, walking around and picking up bits of airdam, oilpan, God knows what else.

In our mountainous region I've seen trucks blow tires (four so far), one lose a wheel, one with bearings on fire, two by the side of the road with flames coming from the engine compartments.

My wife's Impulse (remember those?) got plowed by a breakaway wheel once, she drove about 50 meters on two wheels, rolled into a parking slot, stopped...and flopped back down onto all fours. The car was in the shop for months, getting straightened back out.