Today I saw the ramp, from the back left side, fall of a trailer, that is used for driving vehicles on it. Heavy duty metal, probably 4-5 feet long, and a L shaped bracket same length. 6 or more cars hit it and blew tires/and or cracked rims. We were off to the side, no problems. A few hours later, on our return trip, and it's now dark, a pickup truck had what we thought was large night stand Or such, fly out the back. I saw some movement, but thought it was an animal that had run across the road. A Jeep in front of us, ended up smashing this, tossing debris everywhere. The Jeep spun and ended up crashed head on into the guard rail for an abrupt stop. I swerved slightly and only hit what appeared to be splintered wood and such, and missed the huge debris field. I couldn't stop close enough to check the Jeep, their was too much traffic. I did get off at the first safe exit, and check my tires for damage. All in a 1-2 hour span, within 5 miles of each other.

This just got me thinking about how following too close can certainly contribute to these mishaps, especially at night. And how dangerous these habits are, but you see this as normal driving everywhere. Do they even teach safe distances in drivers training anymore? What have you folks seen, or had happen to you?

I think it was last year or so, I was going home on the Dallas North Tollway at rush hour. A work truck was probably 6 cars ahead of me traveling a decent clip. Traffic had just opened up on this stretch. All of the sudden cars started parting like the Red Sea and hitting the breaks. A generator had fallen off the back and skidded along the tollway. This of course was throwing sparks like no body's business. And I guess gas started leaking because it was either on its side or upside down. Then POOF! Flames shot everywhere. Glad I was close and could get around it, because it really caused a shit show for everyone behind me.

Too many people do a piss poor job of securing their loads. I've seen lawn chairs blow out of the foot wells of a jet ski before at 80mph, ladders, spare tires, you name it. Once I came over a rise on I-65 and there was a full-sized book case or something in the road. I swerved around it, the guy behind me nailed it and i watched his tires blow out in the rearview mirror, and thankfully he managed to pull off the road.

The craziest one was one night at work somebody called in a blacked out vehicle in the travel lane on a dark section of US30 (4 lane divided highway). The city guys got out there and found a 1950s Buick that had rolled off the back of a trailer and coasted to a stop, still in the travel lane (says something for the alignment job!). The guy came back for it...not sure of they cited him or not. It could have easily killed somebody.

I was speeding on the highway in an old Chevy S10 and my entire bedliner lifted out of the bed. I didn't even realize it until I got home, then went back out looking for it and found it still intact next to the highway.

I didn't see it fall out, but the other day I had to avoid a dolly in the middle of the freeway that had fallen out of a truck and obviously subsequently been hit by several cars. It might not have even done damage to my car it was so flattened, but I didn't want to take that chance.

Driving on a two land highway, an SUV two vehicles in front of me - maybe 1/2 a mile up the road - had a kayak fly off the roof into the front of the vehicle following him. Smashed up the front of that vehicle pretty thoroughly.

You haven’t lived if you haven’t been traveling down the highway at the speed limit, and see a truck coming right at you, driving the wrong way, on the highway, at full speed. I’ve had this happen 3 times. I remember each one like it was yesterday. The last time was just last year, on the way up to Colorado. I was driving somewhere in New Mexico. If I hadn’t saw it as fast as I did (I never use a smartphone in my hand in a vehicle, eyes are always peeled, motorcycle riding habits) nor react as quick as I did (instantly), or slam that wheel with all my might and swerve my friend’s GMC onto the service road, the fucker would have hit us head on. Inattentive driving, fucking with the radio and not looking in front, anything, I wouldn’t be typing this.

I have swerved all sorts of things in the road. Hit a sofa once. The sad thing was my friend, at the time, waited until the last second to dodge it, on purpose, and I slammed into it. He knew what he did. Another time a landscaper was carrying sharp rocks in his bed, it was windy, I spotted them, and drifted off at least 8 car lengths back and switched lanes. Didn’t matter, some flew out, hit the tollway, and peppered the entire front end of my pristine S2000. Talk about pissed.

The highways are as dangerous as I have ever seen in my life. I’d avoid them where you can, even if it adds time to your trip. People are out of their minds on the highway right now. It’s insane.

Circa 1973, there were a lot of 1960s and even some 1950s cars still on the road. A styling trend of this era was chrome trim on everything. While traveling on a Los Angeles freeway (I think it was US 101), a piece fell off a car, my sister hit it, and it flipped up and speared her gas tank.

Two vehicles w/ queen mattresses NOT tied down on AZ freeways,
Causing damage to three or more vehicles each, one pulled over and stopped ,other kept going.

Two ladders in two vehicles NOT strapped down, on AZ freeway,
Cars flying all over hell trying to avoid them. ( Did not witness all the mayhem)

Semi carrying freeway light poles, loses about a five inch diam. Nut ,
It hits the CA. freeway at 65 m.p.h. and spins through a cars windshield,
behind us

Box of roofing nails off of a flatbed, on Tuscon freeway ( this made national news)
We avoided the giant mess by a foot or two by careening off to the right ,
Over three hundred cars tires were damaged.

Saw a plastic bed liner fly out of a pick up bed on the CA / AZ border,
People just drove around it.

A South bound semi truck tire on a rim came from out of the sky in to the
northbound lanes, bounced up again 70 feet in front of my little red Grand Prix, went over my car, ( doing 65 m p.h. ) hit the bug deflector / hood of a full sized p.u. behind me.
Launching it skyward again.

While stopped at a stoplight in PHX., A glass truck coming from the other direction ,turned left in front of us, trying to beat a yellow light,
Lost all of the giant glass panels on the passenger side of the truck.

Ladder came off a truck at 65 m.p.h. , a Dodge stealth doing 80 m p.h. ran over it, kinda sorta . Did $8,000.00 damage .

Missed it by 20 seconds, but a full sized pickup carrying Way to many wooden pallets, in Phoenix,
Took a corner too fast and tipped over on its side.

I am the last house going north out of tiny town
. I have three garbage cans that ended up in the ditch , when they flew out of peoples trucks , going out of town.

two of them even had lids.

I got to a t-intersection about a minute after someone on a giant lumber delivery truck lost 16 ) 4 x 4 x 8 oak posts.

I was the only one that stopped to clear the intersection,
I came back 15 minutes later and they were all still there ,
So I loaded them up.

Sold them at the next garage sale for $10.00 each.

Oh and those white insulated lids on the orange igloo ice water jugs, seen two of those fly in to traffic.

Followed a lady in a pickup about 7 miles on I-74,
She lost 8 brand new plastic 12 inch dia. Flower pots from Home Depot.

I told her about it when we both stopped at a stop light,
She thanked me, and pulled into the nursery a mile down the road

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bendable,

Probably a rolling wheel. Not sure where it came from. Once had to go around a dead horse in Venezuela, but I think it WAS the transport, not that it fell out of one.

A huge annoyance to me is the garbage that floats out of the back of garbage trucks. I'm convinced 80% of the litter around here is from that cause. Not from people tossing it.

Dump truck in front of me hit a bump. A large rock, larger than a bowling ball, came out and was bouncing in the road like a basketball as I was heading into it. At the last moment, the rock shattered and I drove through the resulting gravel suffering no damage at all. Who says there's no divine intervention?

Another time I looked to my right and saw a huge truck tire rolling along beside me. Quickly realizing it was no longer under power, I sped up and out ran it.

I watched an F-150 pass me many years ago with a long extension ladder in the bed propped over the cab at a long diagonal angle. In fact, it was long enough to catch the underside of an overpass bridge at speed and fold and eject it onto the interstate. Luckily nobody was immediately around him. Ladders seem to be a common roadside piece of debris; I’ve stopped and dragged a few off over the years.

Another time I was hauling 4 tires/rims on a plug in style rear rack. They were stacked and secured with ratchet straps (or so I thought). I felt a “pop” as I drove and thinking I had blown a tire, gently applied the brakes- a second later I was treated to the sight of one of my wheels passing me on the right. Luckily, no damage was caused to other motorists or the wheel in question.

I work for a state traffic center. You wouldn't believe the shit that flies off cars, trucks, semi's and wheelchairs.

I have dozens of videos

I was pulling our 5th wheel trailer. I saw in my mirror a truck coming hard in the left lane, trying to beat me to the merge so he didn't have to follow me. I lifted so he could make it by. He was pulling a utility trailer. When he passed by, the suction stood up a 5'x10'x1/4" steel sheet off of the trailer. Needed a change of shorts after that. No harm, no foul.

Bet (hope) he will strap his load next time. I'm sure he had fun trying to get that out of the weeds and back on the trailer. FYI, I didn't stop to help.

Back years ago I was riding a Yamaha RD350 heading up to LA from La Jolla CA.
California has these lovely rain grooves in the surface of many interstates so riding a motorcycle at over 70 mph sets up an interesting vibration. People all around me are driving like it’s the Grand Prix and in front of me I spot an old pickup truck with a wooden flatbed in the back. There are about three people in the cab and four or so migrant workers riding on the back. At the very rear of the bed is a worn spare tire for the truck and as I watch I see the rain grooves slowly vibrating that tire towards the edge of the open bed.

There was no doubt to me what was coming and I quickly started moving over to the right. That tire fell off and immediately stood up and went spinning and bouncing down the highway ricocheting off cars. Everyone across four lanes locked up their brakes and cars began sliding and spinning around me.
Smoke was flying everywhere, and I realize that two cars nearest me are doing 360 spins, completely out of control. I am dodging cars and trying to get out of there- ahead of me was bad so I was aiming for the shoulder. As I am deciding whether to lay down the bike and ride it I see a Jaguar with a blond driving spinning towards me and I can see her mouth open (likely screaming, I suspect). I miss her rear bumper by inches and finally get the Yamaha over to the shoulder and stopped without laying the bike down. The smell of burned brakes, rubber and antifreeze (smashed radiators) is floating heavy in the air and it looks like between 6 and 10 cars have smashed into one another while some hitting guard railings.
Over at the edge of the road I see that the pickup truck full of people also stopped and is sitting there. We quickly check to see if anyone was injured and up pulls a CHIPS cruiser. An officer tells all of us that we need to wait to give a statement even if not damaged.
Fortunately no one seemed to have serious injuries. I didn’t feel so good so I sat down on the guard railing.

I heard a guy yelling at the police officer and I looked up as the pickup truck full of migrant workers quickly drove away in a blast of smoke with the officer walking back from it.

“Where is he going?”, someone says to the policeman. “He's the one who caused all of this…”.

“No point in giving them a ticket or them staying”, says the officer. "He didn’t have a driver’s license, is here from Tijuana, had absolutely no US vehicle insurance. They wouldn’t have showed up in court anyway”…
That was around 1980, and told me exactly where California was heading-

For the first runner up - Driving on I-75 down by Sarasota, 3 lanes, I am in the left, semi flatbed with thousands of 2x4's on its way to a Lowes or Home Depot in the center lane. He is doing about 70, I'm gaining at between 75-80mph. And a 2x4 comes flying off, twists in the air, stands up straight, hits the pavement on its end, just in front of my passenger headlight, and bounces off to my right. Had it gone left, I probably would not be alive. It was over before I knew what happened, but about 15 seconds later I was shaking.

And the winner - Driving on I-4 between Orlando and Tampa in my brand new 2005 Dodge Magnum. That was back when this car had just come out. Thick traffic, but moving at 70mph, maybe a little more. 3 lanes, I am in the left, small box truck / U-Haul type in the center. I see something small in the road, on the white lines between lanes. The box truck hits it with a glancing blow and it spins sideways. "Oh shit, that's not something small, that's a freaking crankshaft." And it is now covering most of my lane. I had a fraction of a second to tense up and hit it. It bent my rim, blew out my tire and did a little damage to the bottom of the car. The good news, the semi that dropped the crankshaft was stopped off the side of the road next to me, so I was able to get all his insurance information.

Seen and avoided at various times in the middle of the road while riding my motorcycle on the highway:

A console TV set
An large extension ladder
A mattress

Once a tire exploded on a semi in front of me. BANG! Chunks or rubber hit me; no damage or injury. The biggest part of the tire bounced around me and hit a car behind.

Aside: When I rode a motorcycle, I was surprised at the number of baseball caps I saw at the side of the road. I saw a lot of them. I only saw one actually blowing off someone's head.

Five motorcycles behind a pickup track filled with split firewood, no tarp, all doing about 50 mph. The truck hits a bump. Five motorcyclists ducking, dodging, and swerving to avoid the wood missiles. No one was hit. The truck didn't even notice (or didn't care) that he was losing his load.

My wife hit a piece of cut firewood that fell out of the back of a pickup truck.

The truck was in the right lane, my wife was in the center lane. The wood fell out of the truck, and was hit by the vehicle behind the truck, which threw it into my wife's lane.
When she hit it, it flew up and into the radiator of a Tractor Trailer in the right lane.
My wife was able to make it to the right break-down lane with a bent rim and flat tire, the tractor trailer truck made it to the next exit with a hole in the radiator, the offending pickup was never found.

State Police didn't even file a report.

This piece of chain didn’t fall off, but was thrown from a semi, evidently from a tire, as I was passing it a few winters ago. It blew through the back window and if we hadn’t been hauling a load of furniture it would have made it into the front where my wife and I were.





One of the (many) things that used to annoy me about northern Virginia when I lived there was that construction trucks always dropped gravel on the roadways and of course that bounced up and hit windshields if we were anywhere close behind them. There seemed to be absolutely no enforcement of whatever laws governed securing loads. Strangely, I have never experienced that in Colorado (and knock on wood) even though most such trucks have those ridiculous “Not responsible for broken windshields” signs on them.

Although not dangerous, the sides of the roads and ramps leading from ski areas here in the winter are littered with various gloves, shoes, coats, coffee cups, and other items that people obviously put on the tops of their cars when loading up and forgot they were there. Long ago I established a rule of “Never, ever, put anything on the top of your car when packing up for a trip.”

We dead centered a drive shaft that fell off a tractor trailer and was bouncing down the road in Huntsville. I noticed the truck start slowing down, but it was dark, the newly paved road was dark, and the greasy drive shaft that was bouncing along was essentially invisible. The first sign that something wasn't right was the incredibly loud boom of it penetrating the front of our van and slamming into the firewall right in front of me at 70 mph.

Turns out the rig had just left the mechanic's shop. Said mechanic that had just "fixed" the rig ended up paying for everything, including our tow back to Birmingham and a whole lot of stuff under the hood.