Drive through Detroit.
Rant - Highway trash
- Thread starter BMWTurboDzl
- Start date
I caught a full gator to my 2015 forester's side mirror ..
jeep cherokee ran it over and tossed it at the driver side of car... at 65mph on highway.
Needed a new mirror glass and shell.. surprised it didnt break my driver door window.
Gave me some custom pin-striping too (paint down to primer in stripes) on the fender next to the hood.
I cant tell you how many of those rubber bungies with metal hooks I see laying in the road.. its usually multiple per day.
jeep cherokee ran it over and tossed it at the driver side of car... at 65mph on highway.
Needed a new mirror glass and shell.. surprised it didnt break my driver door window.
Gave me some custom pin-striping too (paint down to primer in stripes) on the fender next to the hood.
I cant tell you how many of those rubber bungies with metal hooks I see laying in the road.. its usually multiple per day.
Says something about society . Very depressing 
and aggravating 
to see all the garbage ( plastics , etc. ) along the roads and in parking lots . Walmart parking lots are the worst . Was taught by grandparents to respect the environment , people and their belongings . All these plastics degrade and get into the ground , air and nearby water ( springs , brooks , creeks , rivers , etc. ) . Not good for people and all other living things .
and aggravating to see all the garbage ( plastics , etc. ) along the roads and in parking lots . Walmart parking lots are the worst . Was taught by grandparents to respect the environment , people and their belongings . All these plastics degrade and get into the ground , air and nearby water ( springs , brooks , creeks , rivers , etc. ) . Not good for people and all other living things .
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That's great advice, and words I live by. Unfortunately, you occasionally can't avoid being near them on the roads.
I had a sheetmetal panel fly off a Winnebango that was oncoming traffic and sail through my windshield like a giant guillotine. Luckily it hit the passengers side and my dog was laying down so went over top of him.
Guy in the Winniebango didn't even stop. Only damage was a $300 windshield and tore the seat a little. (beat up bench seat in a square body Chevy).
Couple years back a lady was killed near my house when a rock from a gravel truck bounced off the road and went through the windshield and hit her. She hit the gravel conveyor at about 55mph.
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/mat...25-year-old-woman-on-glenn-highway-last-year/
Guy in the Winniebango didn't even stop. Only damage was a $300 windshield and tore the seat a little. (beat up bench seat in a square body Chevy).
Couple years back a lady was killed near my house when a rock from a gravel truck bounced off the road and went through the windshield and hit her. She hit the gravel conveyor at about 55mph.
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/mat...25-year-old-woman-on-glenn-highway-last-year/
When I was a kid, my dad was driving to work early (around 4am) one morning, when maybe 100 yards ahead a Semi kicked something up into the air. My dad saw it as it was a lighted section of Interstate. He said it looked like a piece of cardboard spinning in the air. It came down right in front of him and went under the car with a bang. He pulled over as quickly as possible, and checked the car over. It was running fine, and wasn't leaking anything, so he drove on to work. When He got to work in the lighted parking garage he noticed something in the rearview mirror. He turned around to find a 4" wide, 3/4 inch thick piece of steel of around 3' in length.
It turned out to be part of the sacrificial edge of a snowplow, from one of the State DOT snowplows. Apparently it had come off a plow at some point. Anyway after the semi kicked it into the air, and it came down right in front of my dad's car and then went under with a bang, it came up through the bottom of the car right behind the drivers seat. Maybe 4" further forward, and it would have impaled and killed my dad instantly.
The State denied any responsibility, and ultimately we had to be satisfied with just being very lucky to not lose my dad.
I was driving on a lonely dark interstate in PA, no other cars in sight, doing 65. A chrome wheel trim ring (remember those?) appeared out of nowhere, rolling along at about 15 MPH, and I caught it on my lower bumper valance. It then bounced forward, through the beam of a headlight, and disappeared. Rubbed my eyes thinking I hallucinated the whole thing.
Yikes. One evening in the rain my stepfather ran over a large pipe laying in the middle of the highway. It did a number on the front suspension of his 500 SL.
Yes it has, I walk my street weekly to pick up all the trash people chunk out of their vehicles.
Recaps should be outlawed on all commercial vehicles in my opinion, How many deaths, Injuries, & property damage can be attributed to recaps??
And then we have "Rock Haulers" which are the most dangerous drivers I've ever seen.
I was getting off 95, taking a left hand turn heading in the direction of a truck rest stop, early in the morning on my way to work. Not sure how I didn't see it sooner, but there was a tractor steer axle aluminum rim (I think) laying in my lane.
That made one hell of a racket going under my Camry. Thought for sure I obliterated the oil pan or at least the front end plastic. No obvious damage once I got to work. When I got it up in the air I saw the exhaust flex pipe took the hit, then it exited under the passenger side of the car.
Lucky it didn't do worse! Mad at myself I didn't see it sooner.
That made one hell of a racket going under my Camry. Thought for sure I obliterated the oil pan or at least the front end plastic. No obvious damage once I got to work. When I got it up in the air I saw the exhaust flex pipe took the hit, then it exited under the passenger side of the car.
Lucky it didn't do worse! Mad at myself I didn't see it sooner.
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Try living in South Carolina and riding a motorcycle! I'm always dodging something. I recently stopped the bike and picked up pair of garden shears in the middle of the highway!
I also have a Ram truck I spent big money having the 3M bra installed on the front and 1/3 the hood. I was traveling on Hwy 31 ( Myrtle Beach ) and the car in the lane beside me hit something Concrete and big in the middle of the road at 65 mph and whatever it was, it exploded into a hundred pieces and a big hunk flew in the air and hit my truck in that perfect spot that I did not have the 3M clear bra installed!
I also have a Ram truck I spent big money having the 3M bra installed on the front and 1/3 the hood. I was traveling on Hwy 31 ( Myrtle Beach ) and the car in the lane beside me hit something Concrete and big in the middle of the road at 65 mph and whatever it was, it exploded into a hundred pieces and a big hunk flew in the air and hit my truck in that perfect spot that I did not have the 3M clear bra installed!
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
Some people came up like that - was behind a guy (not in US) when the checker asked if he wanted a receipt - yes … I had one item and just left cash - so was right on his heels … He makes the most deliberate toss of that receipt on the roadway … He’d never even looked at it …Says something about society . Very depressing
Seems you take your life (and your property) into your own hands when driving on the roads these days. One of the biggest issues we have around the Upstate are the armies of container trucks (intermodal shipping type) mixing it up with us everyday. Quite a few of them are real sketchy with maintenance, especially the tires. Seen lots of them blow tires, lose tread recaps, and generally disintegrate at speed, spreading shrapnel and tire carcass across all lanes of traffic. Another fun bunch to deal with are the dump trucks. Not like we have a shortage of these either with all of the building and growth around here. Unsecured loads leave just about everything imaginable on the roads. And I love those little stickers they put on the back about not being responsible for broken windshields from debris kicked up. What about the stuff coming off the truck itself? 
Worked so many wrecks where folks have hit all manner of trash/objects in the roadway. One of the most memorable was a ladder that miraculously most were able to avoid. One poor soul ran over it at full highway speed and tore out his oil pan. Not only did he crash, but also 7 others that lost control on ensuing oil slick behind his car. No one seriously hurt, but lots of bent sheet metal. And I could literally furnish a small house with all the furniture I've seen on/had to move off the roadways. Amazing.
Worked so many wrecks where folks have hit all manner of trash/objects in the roadway. One of the most memorable was a ladder that miraculously most were able to avoid. One poor soul ran over it at full highway speed and tore out his oil pan. Not only did he crash, but also 7 others that lost control on ensuing oil slick behind his car. No one seriously hurt, but lots of bent sheet metal. And I could literally furnish a small house with all the furniture I've seen on/had to move off the roadways. Amazing.
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
I think Discount Tire secretly owns roofing companiesSeems you take your life (and your property) into your own hands when driving on the roads these days. One of the biggest issues we have around the Upstate are the armies of container trucks (intermodal shipping type) mixing it up with us everyday. Quite a few of them are real sketchy with maintenance, especially the tires. Seen lots of them blow tires, lose tread recaps, and generally disintegrate at speed, spreading shrapnel and tire carcass across all lanes of traffic. Another fun bunch to deal with are the dump trucks. Not like we have a shortage of these either with all of the building and growth around here. Unsecured loads leave just about everything imaginable on the roads. And I love those little stickers they put on the back about not being responsible for broken windshields from debris kicked up. What about the stuff coming off the truck itself?
Worked so many wrecks where folks have hit all manner of trash/objects in the roadway. One of the most memorable was a ladder that miraculously most were able to avoid. One poor soul ran over it at full highway speed and tore out his oil pan. Not only did he crash, but also 7 others that lost control on ensuing oil slick behind his car. No one seriously hurt, but lots of bent sheet metal. And I could literally furnish a small house with all the furniture I've seen on/had to move off the roadways. Amazing.
Owen Lucas
$100 Site Donor 2023
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Here's a weird one I saw a few years ago.
Yikes ! My dad hit strap a few year back in his 2000 Tundra and it bound it self around axle and wheel stopped turning at 65 mph. He went off road thankfully in a bit of snow no damage.
A tow truck dragged it out and was able to cut the strap off and have him go.
A tow truck dragged it out and was able to cut the strap off and have him go.
Did you choose the insurance coverage? I did not and damaged the 22 inch LF wheel/tire and popped the lower ball joint on a Jeep Grand Cherokee by hitting a median curb I did not see. Rain/dark/dirty windshield. Note: these things pop ball joints at any impact, weak design.
Hertz charged me $22K. My CC paid about half. YIKES!!!!
Anyway, it is a good idea to do what you can to avoid running over debris. Following close has it's risks, and it's generally not to the vehicle in front. Ya never know what that little dark spec on the road will do.
I've never actually read the fine print of a car rental agreement, do they prohibit you just getting the vehicle fixed? Especially for a couple tires, just go to the nearest used tire place and get a couple put on.
We rented a campervan in Australia and I did read that agreement, and they wanted to be informed if the vehicle was damaged. I backed up into a low tree branch and fortunately just broke the rear glass. I called a few autoglass places in the next town coming up, got some quotes, thought about just getting it fixed as it was less than our insurance deductible, but then called the camper company, told them about the glass and my plan to just get a new one put in tomorrow. They were fine with it, as they wouldn't need to mess around sending out another camper. I just sent some pictures when it was done, and they looked at it on the return. $300 and no hassle.
We were not insured if we drove a 1/2hr after sunset, as in a few places there was a hit kangaroo on the side of the road at least every mile!
For just a couple of tires, I'd be willing to just have the car towed to a tire shop and I'd eat the cost of the tires; much faster that waiting for the rental company to dispatch a tow and then wait for them to bring a replacement car. At the time, I didn't have AAA, but now I do.
I probably got lucky since I didn't have the insurance and they never charged me anything for damaging two tires. Maybe my Rewards club status comes with a few perks I was unaware of? I sure won't complain.
