10 year old tires ok for highway driving?

I ha this same discussion with a friend a few years ago about his '70 Dart (I ended uo owning this car too), I told him new tires are cheaper than a tire problem. He calls me about a week later to say I was right - he had a blowout at night in the rain and the tire tread flopping around tore off his fuel line. He didn't want to change a tire in the rain at night in a puddle of gas. He got it towed and it wasn't cheap.