• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

There I was

Share this page

Basil

Basil

Administrator
Staff member
Boss
Online
Just starting out no my morning commute to work one day this past week. I had just entered I-40 west-bound from my home town, for the 35 minute drive to Albuquerque.

I was following behind a pickup truck that was towing a 16 foot flat bed behind with a small stack of 8x4 ft plywood sheets just lying on the bed. As is typical for me, I was well behind the guy (7 or 8 car lengths) as we were going 75MPH and I like to leave plenty of room in case the unexpected should happen, as indeed it did.

All of the sudden, the wind caught one of the sheets and picked it right up and hurled it right at my Santa Fe SUV!! Fortunately I was far enough back that I was able to think for a millisecond and decided to swerve to the right, just enough to allow the plywood to miss me. Nevertheless, my SF did a Joey Chitwood number (two wheels) and then slammed back down; That's when I nearly lost control!

By this time the guy was pulled off on the shoulder and walking back, I guess to retrieve the plywood that had NOT BEEN SECURED!!! The first thing I did was call the country dispatch and told them they needed to get out there and make sure that idiot did not get back on the highway until he had his load tied down!

Needless to say, I'm glad to be alive!
 
Glad your okay...

Speaking of plywood... Back in 2007 during Chinese New Years celebrations downtown, some unsecured plywood feel off a skyscraper under construction right next to the dragon dance... I was far enough away to get a photo without having to be too worried, but it was still quite surreal, thankfully they hit the ground in an area where there were very few people standing, without hurting anyone or hitting any vehicles, but certainly caused a scare, and the dragon dance still went on... The photo evidence (yes, I have a photo for everything...:grin:smile:

394805194_f6eac92cce.jpg


And as I recall this photo made it into a forum discussion on the Discovery Channel website a few years ago...
 
The Discovery channel.....Myth Busters was obviously looking to recreate the Humpty Dumpty scenario. You can clearly see another sheet of plywood, just peeking over the edge. Humpty Dumpty was pushed!
 
Years ago my Dad was driving to work in Lakewood, NJ.
Several cars in front of him was a pickup with an unsecured piece of plywood.
The wood flew out of the truck and hit the windshield of the car following the truck. I am pretty sure the driver (a young woman with kids) was killed.
 
We live among 'em.

Frequently lately I've been to the local Home Depot for materials,: drywall, 2x4's and suchlike. I secure the stuff the way a USAF loadmaster does.

Too many of the other folks hauling similar supplies seem to think gravity trumps rope. Idiots.
 
a few years ago my BIL was following a tractor trailer in his ramcharger and a chunk of ice came off the top and went through his windshield, fortunately he saw it coming and pulled his son down onto the seat with himself on top. Both were ok but shaken and of course the transport driver didn't even know.
 
Basil said:
That's when I nearly lost control!
Click to expand...

Good thing you didn't! Insurance will cover damage to the car, but not your laundry bill.
 
Now that is very scarey. Agatha and I cruise that Interstate frequently if we have errands to do in Albuquerque. I think I am going to rethink my frequent use and change it to infrequent use. It actually is more fun to drive Route 66 than the interstate anyway.:peaceful: :driving:Driver is my favorite

P.S. Like the new emoticons.
 
Th' mooks doing that stuff are everywhere, Judy. Just gotta keep yer head up an' pay attention. Always.
 
I was on Route 30 a couple of years ago following many car lengths behind a pickup truck with an outboard motor boat in the bed.
The boat was too long so some of it was hanging over the lift gate. Wind was a howling and before you knew it the boat was airborne and landed in a crumpled mass of fiberglass in the grass median. The dumbo driver just lost his boat and luckily no one was hurt.
 
Happy you are ok. I was afraid when I started reading that this was going to be another Spitfire incident.
 
Back
Top