Metal (i think) on I-20

[davco]

Well my story is a little different but here goes. I was driving to lunch today on I-225. I get off the exit (bridge that goes over the freeway to a light with walls on both sides) I'm behind a 2005 trailblazer as we come around a blind curve. Well some guy is stopped in the middle of the road. We both hit our brakes, well I ended up bumping the guy at like 3 mph. Trailblazer was fine. I cracked my bumper and put a crease in the hood(all fixable things when you work in a shop) Then to top it off i was at McDonalds and as i walked out my bag tore, so i tried to catch it and spilt a whole coke on myself. Man this was a rough day....well atleast now I have and excuse to do a MSP conversion!!

I hate days like that!

 

[Fluffy Bunny]

Texas is probably the worst when it comes to crap on the roads.

All the big gravel trucks have signs stuck to the back of them stating they are not responsible for damage done to vehicles hit by debris dropped from the truck. Give me a f--king break. After two months of driving 40 miles a day on I35, my wife's car had about a dozen paint chips.

Worst I have heard (without people getting hurt) was a guy in a 1961 Studebaker. Big truck in front of him threw up a full sized brick and it went part of the way through the windshield.

Keep your distance and watch the road.

 

[Caffn8d]

My 2 cents...

Following my wife home from Christmas at her parents on I64 in VA - she runs over a 2X4 in the road and it flies up at me. I swerved enough so it didn't come up the hood and through the windshield at me. Instead it takes out the left front corner light - good excuse for those clear corners I was wanting.

Had a beautiful Bimini Blue 93 Ford Escort GT - coming home one night I run over a rake just lying in the road. Big ass rake too, industrial style not your home garden variety. Banged all up under the car. Little while later down the road it's acting weird and I notice it's running hot in the red. Get it pulled over, let it cool and add some water and notice it's all pouring out of the torn heater hose. Stuck on side of road at 3 in the morning.

Wife called me at work one day saying that a rock had just fallen off a flatbed truck in front of her - wasn't secured, just a load of loose landscaping rocks and smashed the windshield of our minivan. I advised her to follow the truck and get license, plates, any identifying info and, if she felt comfortable, try to flag the driver and get his info. I left work to try to catch up with them and assist her in getting his info. The truck wasn't marked on the cab so she got the driver to pull over and they exchanged info. She didn't ask to see a driver's license and the police WOULD NOT SEND ANYONE TO ASSIST since it wasn't a vehicular collision. Turns out the guy gave bogus info. I have connections with trucking companies and tried to find out who this guy was but all I could figure out was that the truck was licensed in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. Pretty big area to try to search. Especially with us living in Virginia. So, out one windshield.

I look at these 3 incidents and think about how twice we could have lost somebody, whether due to the 2X4 coming straight at me, or the rock through her van. Or coulda lost my engine due to the overheat. And why? Through no fault of our own. "There ought to be a law" - well there is, but nobody wants to really enforce it as we found out.

Long post I know, but it just makes me mad all over again thinking about it. GRRRR.

 

[B1GHAM]

a family friend of my parents was driving behind a pickup truck with a washer, when it let go and slammed on the ground. he had no where to move and ended up plowing into it... @ 50 mph mind you. totalled his F150 and almost took his life.

I actually just ran over what looked like some type of metal bracing (looked almost like a ladder) the other day. didnt see it in time and just braced for it... luckily it bent (but I also wasnt driving my car either.

Then the only time I ever freaked out was when we were in a caravan in the fast lane on 95 and some truck in the lane to the right of us dropped a 20-30 foot collapsed ladder, it bounced and slid into the fast lane causing about 4-5 cars to slam their brakes on and go in multiple directions... the trailblazer that was infront of me swerved to avoid it and ended up back in the path of the ladder. if she wasnt (at this point anyway) on the brakes and doing about 10 mph, it could have killed her. Instead the trailblazer took it like a champ and it looked like she just hopped a curb....


gotta be careful out there... always leave yourself manuever room and stay away from what you MIGHT think is a hazard. Its better to be safe than to trust someone else's ability to tie down cargo. People are inconsiderate and in most cases wont care if something flies off.

 

[iLisa]

wow.. this is an old thread.. lol..