Broke down vehicles

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I travelled from Williamsburg to Isle of Palm SC today. I saw more broke down vehicles on the side of the road than I have ever seen before. Two had smoke coming from the motors which seemed likely to be blown up. One had a radiator problem that looked like it may have overheated the motor. These were not old hooptyfied cars that were broke down either. They all looked to be fairly new or built within the last 4-5 years. There were a good number of other vehicles as well that were broke down as well. Way more than I ever could recall in my driving 400 miles in one day. I guess not doing good vehicle maintenance caught up with a lot of these people today. Also had several slow vehicles travelling well below the normal speed with their hazard lights on due to some mechanical problems as well. Very strange in seeing such a high number of them in one day.
 
In June when we hit 120 degrees I was out of state, my brother counted 6 broken down cars in an 8 mile stretch on the freeway. When the summer first hits here and the temperatures spike, you see ALOT of cars on the side of the road with blown out tires. Still a decent amount but not near as many now, now that summer has been here for a while, the junky tires have been weeded through.
 
Ive seen a lot of tire changes recently... though a lot of roads have been long related and very smooth... not broken down like that though... in fact, I was thinking to myself today how it has been forever since Ive seen a car spewing steam from overheating on the side of the road...
 
Here's the funny aspect of what I observed today that only 1 was tire related. Only 1 out of 14 circumstances. These were mostly newer 3-7 yr old cars and trucks that were on the side of the road. Not many hooptyfied vehicles at all.
 
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I agree JHZR2. That's what I found so surprising was there were so many that had real mechanical issues. The two with smoke coming out of the motors looked to be in big trouble. The one with the overheating issue was not in good shape at all either. Several with the hoods up but no sign of smoke or radiator fluid flying out.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Ive seen a lot of tire changes recently... though a lot of roads have been long related and very smooth... not broken down like that though... in fact, I was thinking to myself today how it has been forever since Ive seen a car spewing steam from overheating on the side of the road...

There seem to have been a lot of flats here lately, too, but overheating is, as you mention, rare compared to years back.
 
Originally Posted By: bbhero
I travelled from Williamsburg to Isle of Palm SC today. I saw more broke down vehicles on the side of the road than I have ever seen before. Two had smoke coming from the motors which seemed likely to be blown up. One had a radiator problem that looked like it may have overheated the motor. These were not old hooptyfied cars that were broke down either. They all looked to be fairly new or built within the last 4-5 years. There were a good number of other vehicles as well that were broke down as well. Way more than I ever could recall in my driving 400 miles in one day. I guess not doing good vehicle maintenance caught up with a lot of these people today. Also had several slow vehicles travelling well below the normal speed with their hazard lights on due to some mechanical problems as well. Very strange in seeing such a high number of them in one day.


Sounds like you were mostly on I-95 : For some reason I see more breakdowns on that road compared to most roads- maybe its the high speeds for long distances ? Blown tires due to underinflation , tread separation , and overheated engines. I think the worse thing I came across was a conversion van towing a larger camping trailer: the hitch receiver appeared to only be a lightweight class I or II, while the camper was every bit of 6000+ lbs. The receiver broke off the frame of the van, and the camper went went out of control and crashed into another van.
 
Winner winner chicken dinner rubberchicken. Yeah Interstate 95 it was. I bet you are right about the high maintained speed being a factor on that stretch of highway. The two blown seemingly motors were possibly very, very low on oil, or oil that was no longer functional due to being in use for far too long and or had a major mechanical failure in that operating system.
Felt bad for the lady with the flat tire. But... A good guy had stopped and had it jacked up getting the spare on it.
 
In California, I-5 at the Grapevine has a 40 mile stretch of road that tests your cooling system. The climb is fairly steep and feels never ending. During the summer you see cars regularly on the side of the road with steam coming from the engine compartment.
 
Yep, that is one long grade indeed. Been through there a couple of times.

I get a kick out of a sign I see on I-15 headed to Las Vegas. Going up that long grade the sign says to turn off your air conditioner to prevent overheating. Something from the 60's or 70's. About every mile there are water barrels to replenish the coolant even though that would not be ideal for today's cars. Headed through the Mojave with temps above 110F, we kept the air conditioning on.
 
Originally Posted By: bbhero
I agree JHZR2. That's what I found so surprising was there were so many that had real mechanical issues. The two with smoke coming out of the motors looked to be in big trouble. The one with the overheating issue was not in good shape at all either. Several with the hoods up but no sign of smoke or radiator fluid flying out.


As a Bitog member you see cars on the side of the road with their hoods up, with "smoke coming out of the motors" and you didn't ask what oil they were using? Why not??
LOL That might help debunk the myth of cars found littering the highway using xw-?? oil and the thick vs.thin daily saga.................. Before stopping determine if the issue is overheating or not. Overheating, don't stop, smoke coming from the engine, and it's not a fire is a prime candidate for further investigation. LOLLLOL

What we see here is cars crashing on a daily basis causing traffic! Plenty of traffic!
 
You talk about crashes. There have been multiple fatalities here in the past week. It's a bit depressing. One was a 19-year old driving recklessly and the other was a middle aged woman that managed to wrap her Sportage around a tree before it caught on fire.

I witnessed a fender bender on the way home last week where the hitting driver didn't even touch the brakes before crunch. Messing with the bloody cellphone.

People don't take driving seriously anymore.... My only solace is that these crashes slowly improve things by getting bad drivers off the road permanently
 
Originally Posted By: SilverFusion2010
You talk about crashes. There have been multiple fatalities here in the past week. It's a bit depressing. One was a 19-year old driving recklessly and the other was a middle aged woman that managed to wrap her Sportage around a tree before it caught on fire.

I witnessed a fender bender on the way home last week where the hitting driver didn't even touch the brakes before crunch. Messing with the bloody cellphone.

People don't take driving seriously anymore.... My only solace is that these crashes slowly improve things by getting bad drivers off the road permanently


It's sad and scary at the same time. It is a daily event here, and the fatalities seem to be going up. Reckless drivers speeding, mostly younger drivers seems to be where most of the problems are. I'd place cell phone use at second. Motorcycles causing accidents during warmer weather is high on the list too. Police are instructed not to pursue speeding or reckless motorcycle drivers, so they get a free pass. They know it and take advantage of it. The bottom line is there are too many cars and drivers on Long Island and the Metro NY area, and many of the roadways need major upgrading.
 
It's interesting that a lot of them are newer. There isn't much maintenance to do on a newer car even at 5 years. On my 2010 Mazda 3 it only required oil changes and tires and spark plugs in the 115k I had it and that's all I did. No breakdowns of any kind. I was due probably for a coolant flush but all I did was top it off since I didn't keep it.
 
It might have been interesting to know the brands and models. I'll bet that many of those breakdowns were vehicles that had lousy maintenance done.
 
Problem is not only too many cars, but TOO MANY PEOPLE! Population of this country in the late 1930's was 130 million. At the end of WW2, (1944-1945) it was 140 million. In 1955, it was 160 million. Today, it is well over 320 million, and that is only counting the legals.
 
When a family member drove back from Florida they saw 3 newer cars on fire. I have to say I've seen more cars on fire than I have pulled over with the hood open or getting towed. Kind of scary.
 
Originally Posted By: Kool1
In California, I-5 at the Grapevine has a 40 mile stretch of road that tests your cooling system. The climb is fairly steep and feels never ending. During the summer you see cars regularly on the side of the road with steam coming from the engine compartment.

That stretch is also good for testing your high mileage slush box.
 
Originally Posted By: SilverFusion2010
You talk about crashes. There have been multiple fatalities here in the past week. It's a bit depressing. One was a 19-year old driving recklessly and the other was a middle aged woman that managed to wrap her Sportage around a tree before it caught on fire.

I witnessed a fender bender on the way home last week where the hitting driver didn't even touch the brakes before crunch. Messing with the bloody cellphone.

People don't take driving seriously anymore.... My only solace is that these crashes slowly improve things by getting bad drivers off the road permanently

I just got back from a vacation in Florida. Drove from OK and I'll say this, the drivers in Florida were by far the worst. Holy cow, it was terrifying.
 
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