Just When You Think You've Seen it All

[TKennedy]

So I am driving down 694 west near the 100 interchange cruising along about 65 in traffic last Thursday and catch something out of the corner of my eye and its a big chrome barstool with a cushioned seat and back bouncing down the interstate into my lane. I couldn't brake or swerve so I hit it with the left front of my brand new Subaru. I watched pieces of it flying down the road in my mirror.

Moderage damage to the car front end and drivers door but it could've been worse. (4K estimate) About a quarter mile down the road I saw a pickup with a couch and easy boy stuffed in the back hanging over the edge. i am guessing it came from that dude.

You just never know that lies ahead eh?

[Tamarack]

Glad you came out OK Terry. No matter how good your insurance is, and how good the repair shop is, auto body damage is a massive pain.

[howard lee]

Terry: relieved that you're OK and it was only your vehicle that suffered damage, as much of a pain
in the neck and financial hassle that can be. People can be so negligent about transporting
large objects on highways. I have seen some crazy stuff here.

[billhammond]

Yikes, you're lucky it didn't bounce into your windshield!

[Village Idiot]

Yes, you're luck Terry. A few years ago when I was on an empty taking a patient to Cedar Rapids in the hospital van a white table with folding legs sailed out of the bed of the truck a ways ahead of me. The kind of table with folding legs like one might see at a funeral or an arts and crafts show. It went straight up into the air and seemed to float for a bit on it's back, legs folded. I knew that wouldn't last; it would turn and crash to the ground quickly, the whole thing was unpredictable. Instinct told me not to stop, but to drive under it. I landed about 50 yards behind me right in the east-bound lane, which I was using. I said to the patient, who was a very aware and lucid gentleman sitting behind me, "damn!" He said "what?"

[Dub]

Wow, Terry, that’s really scarry.

Interstate driving has become horrible. All the lanes are carrying heavy traffic so you can’t slow down, speed up, or even change lanes easily. The eighteen wheelers look like a long freight train speeding down the tracks. The only things missing are the couplings. All it takes is one small thing to go wrong and everybody is toast. All about faith in your fellow man.

Fiddlerina and I had to drive to the Houston area a couple of weeks ago. We took three days on the road each way taking care to avoid the Dallas to Houston route. On the way down we used Interstates and divided highways all the way thinking to save time. We took the “Avenue of the Saints” then over through Little Rock, Texarkana, etc., coming into Magnolia from the east. It was a harrowing trip all the way but especially near urban centers. For the return trip w took advantage of Apple Maps’ option of avoiding highways. The route suggested was two hours longer than the Interstate routes but over three days, two hours doesn’t make much difference. The route home took us through eastern Oklahoma through some of the most beautiful hills we’d ever seen. The whole trip home was lovely and we encountered very little traffic anywhere. A relaxing gorgeous drive home.

In the future, we’ll think long and hard before selecting and Interstate route for travel. It’s just not worth the tension and we see so much more on the roads less traveled.

[epaul]

There are many benefits to living where no one else wants to.

Peaceful drives is one.

Heading north out of Mpls on interstate 94 is nuts. Bumper to bumper 80-85 mph. It gets a teensy weensy bit better after Rodgers. And almost reasonable once the St. Cloud crew gets dumped. And once Alex is passed, it is a nice ride to Fargo with maybe a dozen cars in sight fore and aft as far as the eye can see. And once you leave Fargo, it is just you and maybe one or two others heading on up to Grand Forks. If you want to go any further, say the Oslo exit, it is just you. I usually read a book.

[Village Idiot]

As convenient as four lane highways can be, I do miss the two laners that went right through the middle of small towns. You'd have to slow down, but there was more to look at. Highway 30 in Iowa is still like that from Mt. Vernon on east, and that's the route I take when visiting friends in suburban Chicago. It doesn't take that much longer, and I get go through the very heart of place like Clarence, Wheatland and Grand Mound. This is the Lincoln highway and it goes all the way to Batavia, which is my suburban Chicago destination. Next time I go I'm taking that for the entire route.

[kenlarsson]

Glad to hear you're safe Todd. I've had two similar experiences in my driving career. Once in San Diego on Interstate 8 a step ladder fell off of a paint truck up ahead. It bounced in the road, unfolded and somehow ended up standing straight up in the lane ahead of me. Fortunately, I had room to change lanes. The second time I was driving on Interstate 80 in Omaha and a tire came flying over the divide and bounced down the road toward my car. Again I was able to avoid the problem. I won't even go into what driving in Italy was like.........

[TKennedy]

We plan to drive to North Carolina for a college graduation in 10 days and the body shop can't get us in till June. The front quarter panel was popped out along with some trim. Looked terrible. Fortunately I was able to pop things back and drawing on my lutherie skills replaced the missing plastic rivets with tapered dowels hammered into place and colored black with a magic marker. It actually looks pretty good and seems stable. Fingers crossed.

[billhammond]

Apr 21, 2024 17:04:03 GMT -5 TKennedy said:

Fortunately I was able to pop things back and drawing on my lutherie skills replaced the missing plastic rivets with tapered dowels hammered into place and colored black with a magic marker. It actually looks pretty good and seems stable. Fingers crossed.

I trust you used a top-shelf Japanese tonewood for the dowels.

[david]

Wow, scary stuff Terry. But on the bright side, you might have discovered a new career in auto body repair.

[TKennedy]

Apr 22, 2024 19:24:13 GMT -5 david said:

Wow, scary stuff Terry. But on the bright side, you might have discovered a new career in auto body repair.

Even my wife said it looked pretty good.

[Marshall]

Apr 21, 2024 17:51:06 GMT -5 billhammond said:

Apr 21, 2024 17:04:03 GMT -5 TKennedy said:

Fortunately I was able to pop things back and drawing on my lutherie skills replaced the missing plastic rivets with tapered dowels hammered into place and colored black with a magic marker. It actually looks pretty good and seems stable. Fingers crossed.

I trust you used a top-shelf Japanese tonewood for the dowels.

Brazzzziiillllliiiiiaaaannnnnnnn

[howard lee]

Apr 22, 2024 22:58:05 GMT -5 TKennedy said:

Apr 22, 2024 19:24:13 GMT -5 david said:

Wow, scary stuff Terry. But on the bright side, you might have discovered a new career in auto body repair.

Even my wife said it looked pretty good.

Brilliant, Terry! It is my hope that the G-fores of the road will not dislodge any parts.

[paleo]

I don't think this thread is to blame, but: this happened to me yesterday.

Driving on I 380, suddenly the cars ahead of me were swerving towards the right shoulder of the road, and I could see farther up the road a vehicle sitting on the right shoulder. What??

I soon saw what everyone was avoiding, a long metal bar on the road, in my lane. I veered to the right and avoided it.

What was sitting on the side of the road was a pickup and trailer. An older, rusty pickup, with about 2 ft of lift, and big tires.

When I returned home later, the truck was still sitting there. I could see underneath the truck and it had one traction bar, a long bar that runs from bottom side of the rear axel, forward to the frame. It's meant to control or prevent axel/spring twist under high torque situations. Mainly it prevents wheel hop. Normally two traction bars, right and left.

The truck sitting there had one traction bar, it's second traction bar was what I saw laying on the interstate.

[millring]

Terry, I tore most of the left side of my jeep half off when I ran into a pile of dirt last winter. Imma bring it up to you for some body work.

Thanks,

John

[Cosmic Wonder]

The parents just texted. This morning, as they were heading west on the 10, in the Whitewater/Palm Springs area, the wind was blowing hard and visibility was limited because of blowing dust and sand. People still drive at 75 plus. About100 feet ahead of them a little car got blown out of its lane bounced off the side of a big rig, and took out at least two other cars. Injuries unknown, as everything happened so fast, but the parents made it through unscathed. YMMV but I blame Terry for starting this thread.

Mike

[dradtke]

We avoid interstates when we're pulling the Scamp. We can't go full speed when we're towing, so slower roads really don't take longer. And we see more.

[Marshall]

I can't think of anyone else I know that deserves the moniker, "Scamp", more than you.