Wake Up Call

[Tim05fjr]

I've always tried to make a piont of not riding behind a car or truck with stuff tied to it or hanging off. Even vehicles with trailers in tow I get around and away from A.S.A.P .

Keeping with my personal rule, I was riding up north on rt.87 in N.Y. this weekend and I came upon a car traveling with a mattress and boxspring tied to the roof. Cheap asshole. Most places will deliver for free. Any hoo I go around him and continue on my way.

About 1/2 hour later I pull into a rest stop for some water and a smoke. Get back on the road again and sure as shit, there is this jerks mattres sitting in the middle of the road right in front of me. Tractor trailer to my right and I'm in the hammer lane !!!! :bigeyes: I squeeze around it on the shoulder and get a good feel of the wake me up bumps.

After recomposing myself I go over to the right and slow my roll only to see the asshole on the shoulder putting the boxspring back on his roof.

What's wrong with these people? :dribble:

Just had to vent a little.

Thanks

Tim

 

[AKfjr]

I Agree but also be aware of all vehicles. Had a bass boat on a trailer lose the trolling seat and come bouncing down the slab, and a few days later a guy a loses a pipe off a tool trailer in front off me. Had to bounce over it at 65. Keep your distance if possible or even another vehicle between you so you can dodge whatever they lose.

 

[Karl in NY]

I had a similar scary experience, also in upstate NY, Rt. 22 to be exact...the pick-up truck in front of me was full of 55-gallon drums, all standing vertically in the bed...probably just haulin' his victims to the landfill...

The drums had metal covers on them, one of which decided to depart at 60mph...you know how you duck instinctively when a big bug heads toward your faceshield? A 30" diameter metal drum-cover is 10,000 times more startling...fortunately, it missed my head by inches.

I'm especially leary of the X-Cargo roof-mount carriers so prevalent on mini-vans...they look like they're barely secured.

 

[zorkler]

shit has to be over 25yars ago on the way home form manhatten with my girl (now my wife) was way too close to the car in front on me. young and stupid (also night time) out of no where looked like 10 foot board was just lucky and did not hit it . was riding my 1978 suzuki gs750 . and most people dont no how to tie knots i stay away as soon as i could . the guy with the bed must be a hillybilly and just does not give a shit about anyone but himself

 

[NoCage]

OK... I'll join in this rant. Why the hell are semi's allowed to use re-treads? I have to dodge those things on a regular basis. :angry03:

 

[moby one]

SouthernFJR,

Regarding retreads: My neighbor drives truck and hauls heavy equipt. I noticed that his truck never has retreads. I asked him about it and he said that cheap ass trucking companies will use retreads even though they come off regularly. To limit liability, his company's policy is to NEVER use those damn things.

mo

 

[brazos parker]

Not on my bike, but in my car, going to work at dark-thirty in the am. Car beside me. What appears in my headlights...WTF - an extension ladder!!

Bounced over it w/ one side...no way to avoid at superslab speed.

Fortunately, no harm, no foul! But it did wake me up!!

OK...rant over.

 

[twowheelnut]

That's why I get by semi's ASAP. I saw a trailer tire lose its tread and then blow out. The tread flew up caught the roof rail of the Audi a couple of cars ahead of me - tore it right off! When the steel belts from the shredded carcase hit the panel van following, they ground the paint severely.

Imagine if either one were a motorcyclist? Woulda been bad...

 

[afterburn]

I had an encounter with a dump truck once.. loaded with 1" gravel, on the highway. Of course he was losing a ton per second and I was riding behind it. After being hit by one pebble on my knee and one right between my eyes on the face shield of my helmet, I just hauled ass to get away from the thing. Playing tennis with pebbles at 90mph using your body parts as racket is not funny.

 

[LetzRoll]

I've always tried to make a piont of not riding behind a car or truck with stuff tied to it or hanging off. Even vehicles with trailers in tow I get around and away from A.S.A.P .

I'm especially leary of the X-Cargo roof-mount carriers so prevalent on mini-vans...they look like they're barely secured.

... re-treads? I have to dodge those things on a regular basis.

That's why I get by semi's ASAP.

Playing tennis with pebbles at 90mph using your body parts as racket...

All worthy of making it into the "Things to always be alert for" chapter of "Motorcycling for those who want to survive". We should write that book here on this Forum with a special thread, for the benefit of the noobs.

I treat every other "driver" like they're trying to kill me.

Because whether they know it or not, (most don't)... they usually are! <_<

 

[tontofjr]

When overtaking a car on 2 lane road suddenly in the road in front of me a bit of 2x4 dinked the bars sideways and managed to miss it with the front wheel but back wheel just caught it . Certainly made the bike hop a bit and when I checked the wheel out the rim was buckled on one side .Often wonder what happened to the bit of wood might have taken off like a bullet from my back wheel but at the time was trying hard to unpucker my ar**

:blink:

 

[exocet]

I'm sorry to add this...

About 3 weeks ago a motorcyclist was killed here in Mn by an innertube that flew out of a boat being trailered down the freeway. So far I havn't heard if the asswipe driver/owner has been charged, but I doubt it.

Jeff S in Hastings Mn

 

[FJRZON]

Lot of good points here from everybody. I totally agree about watching out for semis. I never stay behind those after my brother-in-law (who was in the trucking industry for many years) told me some horrific stories about decapitation (dam retreads). :butcher: Yikes! Be careful.

 

[Tim05fjr]

I drove a tractor trailer for a while. Still drive 10 wheeler dump truck on weekends sometimes.

I had a tire blow out on the trailer one time and the it took off the pass. side mirror and blew out the window of the car next to me. Thank God there was no one riding shotgun. Scared the sh** out of the poor guy. He was pretty cool about the whole thing after he caught his breath.

Those tires run at over 110 psi. So when they give out it could be a real hazard.

Tim

 

[8Ball]

I've had several trailer tires blow out on me & 1 drive tire on a twin screw tractor. No matter how far away from the cab, I always felt a kick in the ass when they let loose. It's unreal the damage an explosive blow out can cause. Got many stories.

The most dangerous place is alongside the rig. You should be far enuf behind the trailer (2 second rule) to avoid the 'gater' if a retread blows...or the ladder or pallet or whatever the truck just straddled. But there is no escape if a tire explodes when you are in the lane next to the truck.

 

[GalaxyBlue]

I've had several trailer tires blow out on me & 1 drive tire on a twin screw tractor. No matter how far away from the cab, I always felt a kick in the ass when they let loose. It's unreal the damage an explosive blow out can cause. Got many stories.
The most dangerous place is alongside the rig. You should be far enuf behind the trailer (2 second rule) to avoid the 'gater' if a retread blows...or the ladder or pallet or whatever the truck just straddled. But there is no escape if a tire explodes when you are in the lane next to the truck.

Finally, A post from a truckers point of view! I have had only "1" tire blow out on the trailer in 1 million miles. Call it lucky? I guess.

I drive for IWX Motor Freight and i can say that all the equipment is maintained very well. We don't use recaps because the cost savings from going to virgin rubber isnt worth it when you figure in the damage (Air lines,Mud flaps,CARS,ect).

The main reason a tire will "blow" is because it is under inflated causing an excess amount of heat build up thus making the seams seperate. Even virgin rubber will seperate just like a re-tread if it's low. A recap could last a long time and never blow if it's maintained right.

Just my .02 from a crazy trucker

Ride safe,

Adam

 

[Geezer]

I know of two occasions where a rock came flying out from between the dual tires of a truck and shattered the windshileld of the car following. In one case the driver ended up with severe lacerations on his face. Trucks which are driven across rocky terrain, like a construction sight, can get a rock stuck between the dual tires and it stays there until the truck gets up sufficient speed to spit it out. As others have said, I always try to avoid being beside or behind trucks or trailers and when I do get stuck briefly behing one I look between the tires for anything that doesn't belong there.

 

[teerex51]

On the road I trust truckers far more than I do cagers, except for

* beat up trucks and semis -- especially if I smell burnt rubber or overheated brakes when coming down a grade.

* Eastern European trucks. You don't know whether the guy's even awake/sober or both. Hell, at times he ain't even there. :bigeyes:

In such cases I try to get the hell away from them as quickly as I can.

On the whole, I guess the chances of a truck tire blowing up in my face are far less than a soccer mom swerving into my lane.

Stef

 

[NightShine]

So much can go wrong on the roads, it would seem that only the lucky or the ever vigilant survive unscathed. Fortunately, life will occasionally give you a little forewarning.

I was on the slab on my way home to the Bay Area from Sacramento one windy night, when I started to feel these sharp pings against my right leg. Then it started increasing and I could hear my fairing and windscreen getting pelted as well. And then I noticed the smell of something burning!

I pulled over a couple of lanes and could see that the 18 wheeler that I was coming up on had by now begun to bellow a dark plume of thick black smoke from the left rear wheels of his trailer, followed shortly by a torrent of metal-on-asphalt sparks that barked back in a sharp, bright stream reaching 30 or 40 feet behind him! mg:

As i passed him, he seemed to have things under control and was slowing way down and pulling over toward the right shoulder of the road. This was all pretty dramatic, and it's easy to imagine how this might well have been quite a different experience to anyone who happened to be very much closer to that trailer when his tire blew.