Free advice - it fell off the back of a truck.

[ribbert]

I live in a city with a population of 2.5 million.

A just released report from the authorities responsible for freeways and main arterial roads showed 4500 call outs to remove debris that had fallen from vehicles in the last year. This does not include secondary roads or unreported items. Presumably if they were big enough to warrant a call out they were big enough to take a bike and rider out.

51% of drivers said they had at least once in their driving life swerved to avoid, hit or run over something that had fallen from a vehicle.

One of the most common things they mentioned was ladders.

If I'm going to fall off I want a good story to tell and that doesn't involve a low speed encounter with a wheelbarrow and an old lady in a Corolla.

I make a habit of staying clear of any vehicle that presents such a risk. Something to consider when riding in traffic.

Noel

[giantkiller]

I got a free 20'aluminum extension ladder that way. It was laying across both lanes. So I stuck it in my Corella wagon and took it home. Stuck out of the back of the car about 15'

[TexasDave]

Late last year here in Dallas a man and his girlfriend left a bar at night. On the highway he hit something in the road and his girlfriend fell off the back of the bike and was run over and killed by another vehicle. Because he was slightly over the legal limit for intoxication he was charged with vehicular manslaughter. So if your going to get rid of your wife or girlfriend off the back of your bike do it sober.   Dave

[andyb]

It's not just unrestrained loads, or trees falling into the road that you need to worry about.  It's horrible and profiling and discriminating and etc etc etc... But, fuckit, it works, so I allow extra room, and expect more boneheaded driving from:

-Spotlessly clean Buicks from a few years ago.  Old lady driving, doesn't drive much, stored well.  Or worse, grandkids driving the car now (but then the condition rapidly goes to hell, grandkid doesn't have their own garage).
-Anything that appears to be falling apart.  Generally large cars in the 20 year old range, or small cars from 10 years old or so.  High mileage, probably some smoke out the back.  Someone makes poor life decisions and cannot afford a nicer car.  Also these people are obsese the majority of the time.
-Anyone with bumper stickers.  Dunno why, but it's true.
-Anyone with an overcompensating pickup.  Lifted at least 6" and on ridiculous offroad tires, lord only knows how bad their visibility has been altered, nevermind the C-g and braking ability.
-Anyone in a minivan.  That includes the modern sport-crossover-whatever-it's-still-a-minivan-loser.  Exclusively purchased by people with no interest in driving, but they want to be more stylish than a minivan driver.  Hell, my mom's got one, and that tells me everything I need to know.  I just call them minivans, because they're meeting the same damned needs for carting their children around.  Sliding doors does not a minivan make.  Driver doesn't give a crap about driving, it's just a way of moving the kids around that's easier than walking.
-Anyone with temp plates.  Means they just recently got the car, may not be used to how it drives.  Or worse, they could drive it like they DO know how it goes, and be surprised when it doesn't.
-Trucks with anything in the back.  You don't know how well things were tied down.

So yes, the correct answer is that everyone on the road in a big tin box is potentially able to kill a motorcyclist out of inattention, aggression, or stupidity.  Other things to watch for on the road are Harleys and sportbikes, generally being ridden poorly but a slightly smaller risk to a motorcyclist (i.e., equal odds to knock you off, smaller risk of being run over).  BMW riders, adventure riders, full-dress touring riders all seem to be a class above, on the whole.

I wish that my city was having the same issue with items in the road.  Sadly, these days it's the potholes and poor repair work that's probably more dangerous.  A well-laid gravel road would be safer than the condition we're putting up with currently.

[magge52]

I make it a practice to twist the go-grip and leave them in the dust without delay-passing zones or not. Once saw a kayak fly off the roof of a car, rack and all, with no warning. Fortunately traffic was light so there was no accident and I was in a cage in another lane.

[novaraptor]

got a free brand new in box weedwhacker that way several years ago...

[Capn Ron]

Good advice for sure!

I was driving on the I-8 freeway in San Diego years ago in my Jeep and the guy in front of me swerved.  I braced for something in the road.  It was an alternator, rolling across my lane.  My best move with the time I had to react was to try and straddle it.  I clipped it with the inside of my front tire...it bounced between my floorpan and the freeway a few times and finally pinged off my rear differential.  This ejected it out the rear sending it airborne.  Watching it in the rear-view mirror, it hits the hood of the Honda Accord behind me, buckled the hood, smashed her windshield and continued up and over her car.    I pulled over and assumed she would as well...she just kept driving!  When I got home I surveyed the damage the alternator caused to my vehicle and there was a dent in the rear axle housing the size of a quarter!

I ALWAYS have this in mind when I'm riding the motorcycle...Taking an alternator to the chest at speed would make for a VERY bad day.  

Cap'n Ron. . .

[ken65]

 A while back i was following a VW komby with  a pop top roof. The whole roof just flew off and spiraled over a bridge onto some railway tracks below. They didn't even stop after they lost nearly all the roof.

[Bminder]

A while back i was following a VW komby with  a pop top roof. The whole roof just flew off and spiraled over a bridge onto some railway tracks below. They didn't even stop after they lost nearly all the roof.

They were probably smoking the whacky weed and didn't notice.
Were they from Colorado, by chance?


.

[ken65]

hehe, that's what i was thinking aswell.

[FJ MCC VII]

Temp plates - 50% chance no insurance. And not registered in their name.

[rktmanfj]

-Anyone in a minivan.  That includes the modern sport-crossover-whatever-it's-still-a-minivan-loser.  Exclusively purchased by people with no interest in driving, but they want to be more stylish than a minivan driver.  Hell, my mom's got one, and that tells me everything I need to know.  I just call them minivans, because they're meeting the same damned needs for carting their children around.  Sliding doors does not a minivan make.  Driver doesn't give a crap about driving, it's just a way of moving the kids around that's easier than walking.

Thanks for the useless generalization!   

I happen to own one of these, and drive it regularly.  I own it because of all the things I can do with it, not because of it's capabilities.  I can haul six people in great comfort, or remove all the rear seats and haul a good deal of cargo, both of which come in handy in my business.  Or I can go camping in it, pull a trailer (sometimes with a couple of bikes on it).

It's not always about high performance... if it were, I'd be on the FJ or in my muscle car.

[Pat Conlon]

Beware a painter that paints with a broad brush......

[andyb]

Thanks for the useless generalization!   

I happen to own one of these, and drive it regularly.  I own it because of all the things I can do with it, not because of it's capabilities.  I can haul six people in great comfort, or remove all the rear seats and haul a good deal of cargo, both of which come in handy in my business.  Or I can go camping in it, pull a trailer (sometimes with a couple of bikes on it).

It's not always about high performance... if it were, I'd be on the FJ or in my muscle car.

Why not a proper van then?  Or a proper station wagon?  Right, the wagons have gone away... because they weren't "cool" for soccer moms anymore.  I also will argue the "great comfort" portion.  Unless there's some standout that I've not been in, driven, nor heard about, none of them are properly comfortable.

Sorry, you could be a leading F1 driver, but the overwhelmingly vast majority of people driving these things have no interest in the act of driving, it's just transportation for them.

And this is where the first portion of my post came from... It's horrible, and it's profiling.... and it's usually right.  I can't say much, I drive a little VW hatchback.  As I've found while searching the various forums for information, they are consistently driven by absolute idiots who think they're in racecars.  Pot, kettle, etc.

[rktmanfj]

Thanks for the useless generalization!   

I happen to own one of these, and drive it regularly.  I own it because of all the things I can do with it, not because of it's capabilities.  I can haul six people in great comfort, or remove all the rear seats and haul a good deal of cargo, both of which come in handy in my business.  Or I can go camping in it, pull a trailer (sometimes with a couple of bikes on it).

It's not always about high performance... if it were, I'd be on the FJ or in my muscle car.

Why not a proper van then?  Or a proper station wagon?  Right, the wagons have gone away... because they weren't "cool" for soccer moms anymore.  I also will argue the "great comfort" portion.  Unless there's some standout that I've not been in, driven, nor heard about, none of them are properly comfortable.

Sorry, you could be a leading F1 driver, but the overwhelmingly vast majority of people driving these things have no interest in the act of driving, it's just transportation for them.

And this is where the first portion of my post came from... It's horrible, and it's profiling.... and it's usually right.  I can't say much, I drive a little VW hatchback.  As I've found while searching the various forums for information, they are consistently driven by absolute idiots who think they're in racecars.  Pot, kettle, etc.

What's a 'proper' van to you?   

I had a E-150 (5.0 FI) cargo (my buddies called it serial-killer) van.  Two seats, 12 mpg, truly lousy wallowing handling, a real pig to drive in heavy traffic, but great if all one wanted to do is haul a big load of cargo, but the FJ was too tall to roll inside.

I also once had a 'proper' full-size station Chevy Caprice station wagon once.  It got 10 mpg (454 V8), and while with three vinyl bench seats, it could haul 8 people, none were especially comfortable.  It did, however, have enough power to pull about anything.   

Comfort is both relative and subjective and the newer GM minivan I now have does more, is more comfortable and versatile than either of those two, and gets 25 mpg. I've even found that it's surprisingly well laid out for van camping. 

Plus, while I'm no F1 driver, I do often get the fun of keeping up with lesser drivers in (sometime much) more capable equipment.