Rolling objects hazard

 I was riding up a main drag in town the other day
when I heard a loud BANG behind me at an intersection
with traffic lights. Looking in the mirror I saw
an SUV with a shredded rear body pulling over to
the curb... but something had broken off and was
rolling right across the road.

If I'd been riding the other direction I might have
been at risk of colliding with this runaway piece
of debris.

So on top of all the other potential hazards, I have to
continually compute a few more what-ifs (what if that
women in the Jeep Cherokee runs that yellow light and
collides with that yahoo in the Bronco then [computing
quick estimate of vector forces] her spare tire might
come loose and come rolling in my direction...)

Sean_Q_

 Many years, in West Africa, I was riding about 30 yards behind my
wife's bike. A cocoa lorry (think 5 ton stakebed with a tarp over the
load) passed me. His spare tire, which had been laying on top of the
tarp slipped off and landed in the road in front of me, then bounced
off to the right. 2 seconds earlier, and I would have been dead. 2
seconds later, and she would have. I still shiver.

Oh, and before you chide me for riding slower than a cocoa lorry...we
were on Peace Corps issue mopeds at the time.

Steve

 

OK, here's one for you.

The wife and I were in the cage, on the flyover from southbound 280 to
Northbound 880 in San Jose, CA, slowing because the CHP guy ahead of
us was flashing lots of lights and slowing down himself -- evidently a
hazard in the road ahead. In a rare moment of publis spiritedness, I
switched on my four way flashers, and kept plenty of distance as he
pulled over and stopped. A tire and wheel were lying right in the
middle of the pavement, where the ramp straghtens and descends to the
merge.

Seeing me covering any potential oncoming traffic, the (very young)
officer jumps out of his car, uprights the tire and gives it a push to
roll it off the pavement.

It rolls to the edge of the pavement.

Over the curb.

Accelerates down the berm.

Rolls across three lanes of heaviliy trafficked I-880 and finally
comes to rest in the center divider there, having fortunately been
avoided by several cars, each of whom was able to get past it without
interfering with anyone else.

I can't recall having seen so much skill demonstrated by so many
cagers in such a brief period.

As I drove away, I noticed that the officer no longer looked as young
as he had when I'd first seen him. Aged about 20 years, in as many
seconds, I'd guess.

Al Moore
DoD 734