Ran over something in the road..

[JTK]

I went to pass a slower moving vehicle and as I moved over into the passing lane, there was a folded extension ladder laying completely across the lane! Talk about brace for impact. It made a BAAANGGG! and I instinctively began coating to the shoulder expecting the worst. No shakes, shimmies, lights or flat tires. I couldn't see squat because the wonderful city of Buffalo took ALL the roadway lighting down on this entire ~20 mile span of I-190. It's very dark and stock ram reflector incandescent headlamps suck.

This was on my way to work at 0330 on I-190 in Buffalo.

After daylight at work I checked it out to find the parking brake cable all sorts of limp. It looks like part of the ladder hooked onto the threaded adjuster part of the cable and it ripped the cable from all the plastic clip/grommets that secure the cable into the eyelets along the frame. It yanked the cable so hard it cracked the kick panel trim near the P-brake pedal and yanked up the sill plate.

I ordered a new front section, mid section cable and the adjuster kit from the Rock. Everything else looks and seems to work OK. It was $34 shipped for all that. Doorman of course. I was gonna do it myself, but I made an appt with the small shop I like down the street to have him look it over/fix.

 

[wemay]

If that's the extent of you interaction with a ladder on the highway, count your blessings. Although it could have been much worse, it still sux and sorry it happened at all.

 

[JTK]

If that's the extent of you interaction with a ladder on the highway, count your blessings. Although it could have been much worse, it still sux and sorry it happened at all.

I got VERY lucky indeed. For years I drove Subarus and other smaller CUVs on this route. Things would have been very expensive (or worse?) had that been the case.

 

[Kira]

I'm not going to go into an, "every worker is no good today, not like when I was young" rap but you gotta think if that ladder wasn't deliberately thrown into the road, there's at least one careless dope who can't secure his ladder.....more likely his boss's ladder.

....or it was an honest mistake.

 

[JTK]

I'm not going to go into an, "every worker is no good today, not like when I was young" rap but you gotta think if that ladder wasn't deliberately thrown into the road, there's at least one careless dope who can't secure his ladder.....more likely his boss's ladder.

....or it was an honest mistake.

No doubt.

Had it not been in such a dangerous spot and time (under the Peace Bridge area), I would have tried to retrieve the aftermath to get it out of the way for other motorists and to see if there were any company names on the ladder. Too busy changing my shorts..

 

[Deleted member 89374]

@JTK I'm sorry for your trouble. It made my stomach turn when I read what happened and saw the pictures. I had a similar experience with a rethreaded tire a few years ago.

Please go under the vehicle with an LED flashlight and patiently give it a thorough once-over to ensure nothing else was hit and damaged, like the transmission oil pan, transfer case, etc. Good luck!

 

[The Critic]

You certainly got lucky. Are you in the market for a lift kit now?

 

[Silver]

We are suffering a pandemic of slow moving and improperly secured landscaping and repair vehicles in our area. They all go at most 10mph below the speed limit. They're loaded with weed eaters, mowers, ladders, etc. They create long lines of slow moving traffic, spill crap all over the roads and generally make people miserable.

Thanks. Been waiting to get that off my chest.

 

[JTK]

@JTK I'm sorry for your trouble. It made my stomach turn when I read what happened and saw the pictures. I had a similar experience with a rethreaded tire a few years ago.

Please go under the vehicle with an LED flashlight and patiently give it a thorough once-over to ensure nothing else was hit and damaged, like the transmission oil pan, transfer case, etc. Good luck!

Thanks. I just got done doing an oil change on the truck and gave it a closer look. I looks like it whacked the front fuel tank strap a bit, but luckily not too bad. You can see some scars under the truck where pieces whacked against the floor and frame. Everything is black and greasy under the truck given the fluidfilm and woolwax treatments it's seen, so it's easy to see what touched where.

 

[JTK]

You certainly got lucky. Are you in the market for a lift kit now?

LOL! Back in the good'ol days this would have been a trade-inable offence for me.

 

[Deleted member 89374]

LOL! Back in the good'ol days this would have been a trade-inable offence for me.

Yeah, no kidding. Same here. I'm very OCD.

 

[JohnnyG]

Missed running over a sofa that somebody dropped in the middle of I4 between Orlando and Tampa once. Brand new Caddy, less than 2000 miles on it.
Wasn't so lucky on the tractor trailer tire tread 1/2 mile further down the road though. That cost me a repainted front bumper.

 

[Blueshound]

Lucky break that it wasn't worse. Extension ladders must not have much horizontal crush strength. My wife hit one in her Volvo S40 about 10 years ago after it landed in front of her on the highway. Literally zero damage. But to this day we do not drive behind any vehicle with a ladder on top!

 

[PimTac]

Where that cable passes through the floorboard into the cab will require some sealant to prevent water intrusion.

 

[JTK]

Where that cable passes through the floorboard into the cab will require some sealant to prevent water intrusion.

There's a rectangular rubber boot/grommet where the front section of the cable goes through the floor. The new cable came with a new boot. There's a big ol wiring harness that runs next to the brake cable in the door sill area. Luckily that was left unscathed. Most of that wiring is run though a plastic conduit that snaps apart.

 

[dan_erickson]

Did you check the parking brake itself? I had a ram that was involved in an accident and the cable was stretched to the point that it bent the parking brake behind the kick panel trim

 

[JHZR2]

Sorry to hear of that damage - glad you’re ok.

 

[odie]

Luckily , your fine . Others may have swerved to miss it and made the situation worse . See things on the road way too much . Had a new oil filter that was installed 1 or 2 days that got damaged by small piece of metal laying on the road . Replaced it . It's also sad and frustrating to see all the garbage that's on the side of the roads . It's an indicator about our society .

 

[nthach]

It could be worse. A friend hit a pothole and initially thought the splash shields got ripped off. Turned out she also needs new grille shutters, lower core support(the car still drives fine but I didn’t take it on a freeway run) and a bumper reinforcement.

 

[JimPghPA]

@JTK I'm sorry for your trouble. It made my stomach turn when I read what happened and saw the pictures. I had a similar experience with a rethreaded tire a few years ago.

Please go under the vehicle with an LED flashlight and patiently give it a thorough once-over to ensure nothing else was hit and damaged, like the transmission oil pan, transfer case, etc. Good luck!

And brake lines, or fuel lines, gas tank, wires. There plenty of stuff to properly inspect after that.


Probably best done with it up on a rack.