At least it was on the back. If it were on the front you might have lost control.
That's what I heard as a kid... but I have since had it explained that when a rear tire blows, the back end of the vehicle gets squirrelly and you have little control of it -- when a front tire blows, you can somewhat control the erratic pulling with steering input. Makes sense to me, and I'm happy to say I haven't tested either theory!
