Driving while sparking

[pandus13]

Hello BITOGers,

I just remember something I saw last week, and forgot it because of traffic and rainy days.

I get on a highway, drive for couple minutes, look in front of me and there is an SUV sparking (in medium rain) from front side wheel. Pretty close to the brake rotors already, no tire "meat".
Couple folks signal with lights, SUV continues driving.

Me, I just went around and as far away from it.

Do you have stories like that?

 

[PimTac]

Unstable looking loads, flat tires that look like they are ready to separate, smoke coming out, yes and I just stay clear.

Occasionally I still see old cars with frames that drive cattywumpus. I don't get too close to those either.

 

[supton]

I can only think of one.

It was a rainy morning, but the rain had let up. But traffic was kinda heavy, somewhat slow. Found myself behind an older SUV, and I noticed that it would twitch every so often. I thought it odd but figured, it was 7:30am, maybe he was half out of it.

Get around a corner and I expected him to get going. Just as soon as I thought that, the rear came right around. He did a 360 and crossed all 3 lanes to end in the shoulder on the other side. The tires must have been beyond bald.

Oh, years ago I was down visiting family in KY, and I found myself one night following a single white light bulb down a road. The brake light on the other side was blown, and the lense on the side working was broken. I think the other side came on during braking... Same trip I watched a guy with an S10 have to stand back, brace himself and then slam the door with all his weight to get it to close. The amount of cab sag was to the point I was thinking "broken frame".

 

[Pew]

I signaled to a truck driver that was dragging his chain along. He actually stopped.

Seen some sort of old caravan drag along 5-6 junked cars behind it on the highway doing like 40mph. They definitely should have been pulled over and had their license taken away.

 

[pandus13]

Originally Posted by Pew
I signaled to a truck driver that was dragging his chain along. He actually stopped.

Seen some sort of old caravan drag along 5-6 junked cars behind it on the highway doing like 40mph. They definitely should have been pulled over and had their license taken away.


Uh-Oh.

Just driving under ORD airport (many warehouses/industrial area)
-signal truck/semi with doors open: tries to run us (multiple cars signaling) of the road
-pass a semi, it proceed to have a spectacular multiple tires blow out including a number on a limo SUV
-trucks/semis changing lanes at high speed, without looking at traffic because of missing a turn(have a thread somewhere with "missed a date with a semi")

 

[splinter]

Several of the drivers around me seem to be doing it on occasion.

Presumably that herb is for medicinal purposes.

 

[dogememe]

There's an older f-250, early 2000s probably, that must live near me, because I see it about once a week.

The whole truck is pretty beat up but I first paid attention to it because I kept hearing a flat tire noise while driving. Well, the front passenger tire was making a squelching noise but the camber is really bad... like this \ perhaps broken ball joint?

 

[SeaJay]

I dropped the entire piping and muffler system (old car, pre-cat) on the 59th street bridge in New York City one time. I imagine it had been sparking for quite a while before it let loose.

 

[1000MPH]

Several years ago, a Ford Explorer parked up the street. I noticed I could see the steel belts poking through. Looked closer and there was a completely worn brake pad lying in the gutter. Was it a coincidence? How bad does it have to get before a brake pad falls out of the caliper? Maybe it was just the shim? Then the horror...a baby seat in the back. I think about it now and then and I wish I did something to help them out.

 

[mclasser]

I was down in South Florida for a project and saw something similar to OP. There was an old Explorer with a shredded tire flying sparks down the highway. The driver was on his phone texting, totally unfazed by the situation. Come to think of it, I saw some real gems while down there.

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by pandus13
Hello BITOGers,

I just remember something I saw last week, and forgot it because of traffic and rainy days.

I get on a highway, drive for couple minutes, look in front of me and there is an SUV sparking (in medium rain) from front side wheel. Pretty close to the brake rotors already, no tire "meat".
Couple folks signal with lights, SUV continues driving.

Me, I just went around and as far away from it.

Do you have stories like that?

Yeah, some clapped out donk back when I lived in Shreveport lost its tire (not rim, just tire, looked like half the outer portion) right in front of me. Flew up in the air and I slammed it in 3rd and gunned it. Actually drove UNDER the airborne tire.

 

[gathermewool]

I saw something similar, though the guy was still luckily riding on what was left of his quickly-disintegrating tire. When it was my turn to get his attention, I got lucky. He signaled to get off at the next exit. I pulled up on his left side and honked my horn until he noticed me. I yelled through my open window what was happening and he pulled over. He had no clue his tire was literally disintegrating and he was very close to ruining much more!

As luck would have it, he was exiting near where he worked, a Walmart with a service/tire center. IIRC, I got his spare on and followed him there. I don't recall the state of his spare, but I do remember that it got him there.

It wasn't my place to do so, but it still took everything I had not to chastise the man for not having any common sense or situational awareness!

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted by dogememe
There's an older f-250, early 2000s probably, that must live near me, because I see it about once a week.

The whole truck is pretty beat up but I first paid attention to it because I kept hearing a flat tire noise while driving. Well, the front passenger tire was making a squelching noise but the camber is really bad... like this \ perhaps broken ball joint?

wheel bearing

 

[ragtoplvr]

CALL 911. Give info including license. If an officer is in the area they will pull them over. You can save a life. Usually someone like that is also stolen, drunk, high running from the law or some combo. Last time I did that the license plate came back stolen. I do not know if they got them but the did broadcast it and look.
Rod

 

[SeaJay]

Originally Posted by mclasser
I was down in South Florida for a project and saw something similar to OP. There was an old Explorer with a shredded tire flying sparks down the highway. The driver was on his phone texting, totally unfazed by the situation. Come to think of it, I saw some real gems while down there.


Florida does not require periodic safety inspections that may have caught such conditions before they got that bad.

 

[Touring5]

When I see someone with mechanical issues or driving erratically, I generally stay well behind them. They can't crash into me or run me off the road that way. If they're driving too slow, I'll pass and get well ahead (then monitor my rearview mirror).

I was driving in the wee hours on a 6 lane, divided interstate several years ago. Very little traffic. I was in the middle lane and was following another can in the same lane, several car lengths ahead. They suddenly swerved over to the right lane (under control) and I instinctively did the same. In less than a couple of seconds here comes an idiot driving toward me in the middle lane. What then concerned me was that this was on a loop around a city and I wondered if he could manage to make a full lap and come at me again.

 

[Earls1st]

sorry, no sparking involved

1) driving northwest on I-94 between St. Cloud, MN and Alexandria, MN. up ahead is single axle livestock trailer w/ the back end way up in the air. get close enough to see why: being pulled by a Chrysler/Plymouth/Dodge minivan, bumper almost to the ground. I think, at least there's not a critter in there, but then get close enough to see and indeed hauling a horse/cow - can't remember which.

2) gas stop off I-90 out by Wyoming/SD border and see a 22'/24'/26' trailer being pulled by an S-10 pickup: ball in the bumper hole and bumper bent into a V - appeared to be heading back onto the freeway after a fuel stop. glad I was going the other way.

 

[69GTX]

How about driving while tossing?

On I-95 on a Sunday, following a company van years ago, driving a bit erratically. Next thing you know cans, bottles, wrappers, and just junk are being tossed out of the front windows for a couple minutes. It was like going to the dump day. What you might do in a plane before making an emergency landing while very low on fuel to help lighten the load to gain time. I had to swerve left and right even though I was a couple hundred feet behind them. Some of the liquid made it to my windshield. It finally occurred to me they were drunk. Called the state police and got little help. Followed that weaving van 10 miles to my exit where they got off....only to reload at a local package store. Wrote down the license # and company name and called state police again....no help. They continued on their way and I had to turn off to go home. I looked up the company name and left a phone message for the owner. As it turned out, the van was returned damaged along with broken windows that next day. When everyone showed up for Monday work, no one admitted to borrowing the van. All in all, an interesting situation.

 

[The_Eric]

Where's Joseph when you need him?

Anybody remember that epic cluster?

 

[MrMoody]

Originally Posted by splinter
Several of the drivers around me seem to be doing it on occasion.

Presumably that herb is for medicinal purposes.

Same thing I thought when I saw the subject.