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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Oct 8, 2021 16:07:34 GMT
The backstory: Years ago I worked in acute rehab of traumatic head injury patients. One guy we had was injured while driving a second job as a limo driver. He was behind a truck hauling construction waste when a cement block off the truck came through his windshield crushing the front of his skull. I've had a very healthy respect for those possibilities in the thirty years since then.
The now: Yesterday I was driving my son's truck on I-64 in Norfolk, Virginia when I had to be behind a tarp-covered truck to feed off one highway onto another. I was quite literally thinking about how tightly the tarp seemed attached at the back of the truck when a mattress flew off the front of the truck right into my path! I was able to slow down safely - keeping an eye on the guy in my rearview mirror that he was slowing down too - and navigate slightly to the right (a wall on my right and another lane of traffic flying by on my left) before running over half the mattress with my left tires. Thank goodness I was in my son's truck that sits higher rather than my car that's much lower. And thank goodness I had left plenty of space between me and the tarp-covered truck or the mattress would have flown into my windshield.
So I'm here with a PSA, I suppose. Please be aware of the potential dangers in following trucks with loads. I've seen plenty of things fly out of people's pickup truck beds too.
Let's all be careful out there!
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Post by librarylady on Oct 8, 2021 16:12:47 GMT
I am always fearful when I am behind a PU carrying things that may fly off. I fear trucks with lots of pipes stacked on the bed as well.
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Post by jeremysgirl on Oct 8, 2021 16:12:53 GMT
I'm so glad you are alright. My DH is a truck driver and I give a wide berth to anyone driving a truck.
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Post by Patter on Oct 8, 2021 16:18:40 GMT
I am always fearful when I am behind a PU carrying things that may fly off. I fear trucks with lots of pipes stacked on the bed as well. Me too including logs, etc. I really try to stay away from most trucks (dump truck too). Spongemom Scrappants glad you are okay, and thank you for sharing. I will now be even more diligent than I have been and share with my family. |
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Post by katlady on Oct 8, 2021 16:59:24 GMT
That is one of my fears while driving, especially when I see a truck that looks like his load is not fully secured. Glad you were able to avoid the bed!
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alismyhart
Shy Member
Posts: 19 
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Post by alismyhart on Oct 8, 2021 17:08:17 GMT
I hit a part that fell off a semi bed years ago in a Honda CRX (2 seater) couldn't avoid it. It broke my rim of my tire... I try not to get behind trucks anymore.  |
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janeliz
Drama Llama
I'm the Wiz and nobody beats me.
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Post by janeliz on Oct 8, 2021 17:08:23 GMT
How scary! I’m so glad you’re ok.
I do find myself feeling on guard when I’m behind a vehicle that is hauling anything. Your reminder is a good one!
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MorningPerson
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Post by MorningPerson on Oct 8, 2021 17:13:16 GMT
That’s a good reminder for all of us - thank you.
One other thing I’m hyper aware of is when I’m following a vehicle with bikes strapped to the back.
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alitheia
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Oct 8, 2021 16:34:48 GMT
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Post by alitheia on Oct 8, 2021 17:13:36 GMT
thank you for the PSA!
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desertgirl
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Post by desertgirl on Oct 8, 2021 17:42:25 GMT
Glad you are ok. Scary!
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J u l e e
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Jun 28, 2014 2:50:47 GMT
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Post by J u l e e on Oct 8, 2021 17:46:50 GMT
Wow! That is scary! Good job avoiding something worse happening.
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finaledition
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Post by finaledition on Oct 8, 2021 18:05:53 GMT
I am always fearful when I am behind a PU carrying things that may fly off. I fear trucks with lots of pipes stacked on the bed as well. I witnessed a mattress fly off a few years ago. From that point on I will break any speed law to make sure I’m not close to a truck hauling stuff. |
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Post by Ryann on Oct 8, 2021 18:33:30 GMT
How scary! Glad to hear you are okay. I am always leery of driving behind any kind of truck with visible clutter in the bed and actively avoid it.
I had a ladder from a pick-up truck fly at my car in the fast lane of the freeway. I was able to swerve into the shoulder enough to just avoid hitting the ladder. I was beginning an 8-hour road trip and had to pull over to catch my breath for few minutes before I was able to continue.
A few years ago I drove over a large plastic paint bucket that fell out of a construction type truck driving in front of me. The plastic melted and got stuck to the undercarriage of my car so I couldn't drive. I called my spouse to climb under the car to see if it could be dislodged. I didn't want to crawl on the ground and ruin my clothes as I was on my way to a job interview. I was in sight of the building (but not exactly close, it was a high-rise). When I called to tell them I was running late (but wasn't yet), I joked they should look out the window, they could probably see my car on the side of the road (I was on a freeway overpass). I eventually got to the interview but did not get the job.
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edie3
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Post by edie3 on Oct 8, 2021 19:49:47 GMT
We were driving home from a week at the beach with one of those old plastic cartop carriers on our car. All of a sudden one of the straps broke and the carrier flew off across 4 lanes of the interstate. Thank goodness there was no one behind us. It could have been deadly. We were miles from home, not enough room in the car for all the stuff in the carrier. A angel of a Highway Patrol went to Sears for us and bought a new strap for us.
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Post by warrior1991 on Oct 8, 2021 20:02:39 GMT
We were driving home from a week at the beach with one of those old plastic cartop carriers on our car. All of a sudden one of the straps broke and the carrier flew off across 4 lanes of the interstate. Thank goodness there was no one behind us. It could have been deadly. We were miles from home, not enough room in the car for all the stuff in the carrier. A angel of a Highway Patrol went to Sears for us and bought a new strap for us. I was driving on the freeway years ago next to a flatbed tow truck that had a car on it. The car had a plastic cartop carrier on it. After a few minutes the wind ripped that carrier off the car. Thankfully the freeway was very empty, and no one was behind the tow truck. The carrier shattered into a million pieces. It was a warm summer day, so I had my window open. I'll never forget the sound it made when it hit the road and shattered. |
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Post by mom on Oct 8, 2021 20:03:53 GMT
Oh my gosh! Im so glad you are ok!
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Deleted
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Jun 1, 2024 22:48:54 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2021 20:15:22 GMT
spongemom Scrappants : Oh my! Thank God you're okay!!!!!!!!!! You must have been so scared!
As a sidenote, driving where we live down here, we see crap fly out of the cabs of pickup trucks here daily. I make it a rule to get the heck out of the lane if I'm behind a pickup with crap in the back. We've come close to being hit so many times by things from plastic to mattresses to washing machines. No one ties things down here, and it causes horrible accidents way too often.
Here's a thought: If the police down here would ticket these pickup trucks for not being careful enough to tie down their load in their open trucks, they'd make much more $$ than on speeding tickets set up through stupid traps. (I agree with ticketing people for speeding, but the way they set up traps here and catch 20 people in the same spot for going 42 in a 30 mph empty country road it just stupid.) IMO, it's much more dangerous for the flying items out of pickup trucks.
SS: I admire you for your line of work! Ever since I had my eyeloss "accident", I became very aware of my surroundings and I try to be protective and careful.
Again, I'm glad you're okay!! Sounds absolutely frightening to me! Good PSA!!
ETA: DD33 just reminded me of some of the stuff that almost hit us from open pickup trucks in front of us: Poles seem to be the #1 item that stick out of the pickup trucks and just teeter when they stop. I could foresee it going right through my windshield into my head (just my endless fear!). We've also recently seen a ratty pickup truck with a few steel ladders in the back. This truck was flying on a local road here and one flew out, then another, and then another, all in about 30 seconds!!!!! We were luckily in the left lane & they were in the right. They stopped IN the lane and ran back to pick it up. There wasn't too much traffic and they avoided a bad accident or death. Idiots.
We've also seen a lawnmower in the cab of an old pickup truck just moving around as the truck was driving. Wasn't tied down AT ALL. Yup, it just flew out of the back when that truck came to a red light. It did hit the front of a car that was behind it, but it was luckily minimal damage. These careless idiots need to be charged for their neglect. I've never seen anything like it!
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Post by Zee on Oct 8, 2021 20:24:05 GMT
So glad you're OK! The scariest things I've ever come across were an aluminum ladder on the highway in suburban Chicago traffic, and a metal road sign that flew up and pierced our license plate in Minneapolis (I just kept thinking, what if we had been on the motorcycle? I could have been beheaded).
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Post by birukitty on Oct 8, 2021 20:35:41 GMT
Thank goodness you are okay and thanks so much for the PSA!
I've been wary of driving behind trucks with metal pipes sticking out of the back since watching the opening scenes of the movie "The Descent". I also don't like driving behind those big trucks that carry cars on top of them in case one of the cars come loose. I never thought about pickup trucks with tarps on them or pickup trucks in general, but I certainly will now.
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RedSquirrelUK
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Post by RedSquirrelUK on Oct 8, 2021 20:52:41 GMT
Glad you're OK.  I have a similar fear of following trucks carrying hay bales ever since I was a few cars behind one and noticed that it had smoke coming out of the side of it. I followed it round a roundabout onto a dual carriageway and overtook it as it pulled over. By the time I could no longer see it in my rear view mirror (maybe 30 seconds) it was ablaze. My supervisor was an hour late to work that day. It turned out she was 5 vehicles behind me and couldn't get past - that's how quickly it spread. They had to close the whole road off to resurface it. That was about 30 years ago, long before mobile phones and the ability to call emergency services from the car. I discovered then that that stretch of road had no emergency callboxes for miles. |
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kate
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Post by kate on Oct 8, 2021 20:59:14 GMT
Y'all have put the fear of trucks in me!
So glad you're okay.
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Post by maryland on Oct 8, 2021 21:32:23 GMT
How scary! Thanks for the reminder.
I really don't trust anyone on the road. Maybe that's because I grew up in Maryland, and we have some crazy scary drivers. But they are everywhere. I am really nervous on the PA turnpike because of so many trucks and geography. But I stay far away from trucks. PA turnpike is always under construction, so when there are barriers on both sides and no shoulder, I practically have a panic attack.
In a business transportation class I had in college we had a teacher that used to be a truck driver. She gave us a couple useful tips when driving around big trucks. I always try to get the number (if it is on the truck) and if a truck driver is being a very careful driver, I like to call and compliment the driver. I always appreciate good drivers, in both cars and trucks and like to thank them for being so cautious.
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Post by bc2ca on Oct 8, 2021 21:56:16 GMT
That is so scary and I'm glad you are okay. Every time I'm on the freeway, I'm amazed at the bits and pieces sitting at the side of the road that you know dropped off a truck.
The funniest thing we ever saw was a giant bouncy ball escape from a garbage can in the bed of a truck. It was a long weekend so traffic was super slow stop and go. The lid popped off the garbage can and a few minutes later we saw the edge of a ball peeking out. Every time the truck stop, it seemed to escape a little more until it popped free. Then it bounced right off the bed onto the highway!
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maryannscraps
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Post by maryannscraps on Oct 8, 2021 22:17:12 GMT
A man was killed by a piece of metal flying off a truck this week quite close to me. This has definitely been on my mind.
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Post by simplyparticular on Oct 9, 2021 1:23:35 GMT
I've lost count of the umber of near misses from things flying off the back of trucks. 5 gallon paint buckets, chunks of wood, mattress, a crib.
Last Friday around 9:30pm a piece of MDF furniture - looked like a nightstand or end table, popped off a truck 2-3 card ahead on the expressway. The semi behind the pickup went over it and it splintered into large chunks that bounced across all 3 lanes.
I was in the middle lane surrounded on both sides and ended up driving over a a 5" x 30" chunk of wood with sharp ends. The Harley rider next to me barely swerved around the his smaller but taller chunk.
It was hair raising and I texted my coworkers who would be taking the same route home to watch out for all the sharp pieces, one of whom had his motorcycle that night.
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Post by scrappintoee on Oct 9, 2021 1:47:06 GMT
Wow....so glad you're okay! They've had PSAs on our local news about how many horrible accidents occur because of ALL kinds of trucks hauling things. I always marvel at how CLOSE many drivers follow trucks (or even regular vehicles not hauling things) ---have they NOT heard of accidents, and/or the 5-second rule? We *almost* had a horrific accident years ago when a bunch of tires flew off the back of a truck on a busy highway. It was ALSO raining, which made it scarier. Thank God for DH's quick reflexes! Similar accident years later, a metal item flew off of a truck into our windshield on my (passenger) side. Once we stopped and took some deeeeep breaths and I stopped panicking, I could see how close I came to being beheaded.  We were on our way to visit family, and I texted them pics to explain why we'd be late. With my family's penchant for gallows humor; many silly, morbid jokes resulted. |
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Oct 9, 2021 2:21:36 GMT
So many scary incidents similar to mine mentioned! I’ll repeat, we all need to be very careful on the roads.
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Post by scrappintoee on Oct 9, 2021 3:30:23 GMT
I forgot to mention, the "metal item" ( can't remember WHAT it was) that came close to beheading me, plus, the shattered glass and hole in the windshield *almost* became the subject of a scrapbook page. I scrapbooked everrrrrything back then!  My Dad would always say "if toee didn't SCRAP IT, it didn't happen!" |
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Post by ScrapbookMyLife on Oct 9, 2021 3:53:35 GMT
I try to avoid (stay well behind or pass and get in front of them) tarped and open trucks, because they tend to have little bits of debris flying out.
My front windshield has been hit with little bits of debris in the past.
I have witnessed a "flipping out the back end of a pickup" fridge on the freeway (was not strapped down), thankfully traffic was light and all cars were able to dodge and avoid. If I recall correctly in my rearview mirror, a towtruck stopped and put on it lights to alert oncoming drivers to merge over, because the fridge landed in one of the travel lanes.
I've witnessd (more than once) on the city streets, a mattress flip out of a pickup truck. One bounced in front me and when sailing over my car and landed in the street behind me. The driver had no idea, because they didn't stop.
I also saw a dog bounced out of a truck bed when traffic came to an abrupt halt.
People need to secure their items when in open truck beds or open trailers.
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tincin
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Post by tincin on Oct 9, 2021 5:06:40 GMT
Years ago I was passing a tow truck that had a car on its hook. Something about the way the car was moving frightened me so I immediately let off the gas and started to brake. Suddenly the car dropped off the hoist, went across 4 additional lanes and hit a tree head on. Scared me half to death because my son was in the front passenger seat which would likely have been where it would’ve hit my van. Since then I give wide berth to people hauling things.
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We were on our way to visit family, and I texted them pics
