My new morning route to work is taking the Northeast Extension north to the Quakertown exit. The Northeast Extension is still only two lanes in each direction, with a small shoulder on the right in this direction. I was minding my own business going about 70 mph in the left lane on Thursday morning. There was a small truck about 50 yards ahead in the right lane and a large dump truck 50 yards ahead of him in the right lane.
Then all hell broke loose. One of the dump truck’s rear left tires literally exploded into a million pieces. I was stunned and said “oh shit!”. Huge chunks of tire were all over the left lane. I slowed rapidly and managed to maneuver through the debris zone. The truck to my right also slowed, but did not swerve into my lane. The dump truck slowed and pulled over to the shoulder.
All three of us kept our wits about us and didn’t do anything stupid. In the seconds after the blowout, my biggest fear was that the dump truck would veer out of control and swerve into my lane. My Honda Civic would crumple like an aluminum can if it hit that massive dump truck. But, I survived another commute. The incident certainly got my blood pumping for the day ahead.
After being run off the road by an 18 wheeler two years ago, I hate being near large trucks. It is just good risk management staying as far away from large trucks as possible.
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I just witnessed the same exact thing on the interstate last week when I went to town. Right next to me a Big 18 wheel truck. If you’ve ever shot or been near someone shooting a 50 caliber rifle, 700 grain bullet, that’s what it sounded like. There was a shockwave you could feel in your chest.
One of my worst fears is one of those damned rock hauling construction dumpers crossing the double yellow into my lane from the opposite side. I drive a school bus part-time and hate seeing them on the road not just during my route but during any normal day. Many of them haul rocks because they can’t qualify to drive kids.
You’re a lucky man it was a rear tire. If it was a blown tire on the driver’s front side it would pull to the side of the flat.
“Many of them haul rocks because they can’t qualify to drive kids” Seriously?!?!?! When I drove a dump truck some of the WORST DRIVERS were school bus drivers!!! Every time I saw one I prayed “Dear Jesus, please don’t let her run into me!!!”
That’s ironic you’d use the descriptive pronoun “her”.
I’ve been driving over 35 years now in vehicles of various sizes and the least respected vehicle on the roads of NJ, short of a slow-moving garbage scow, is a school bus on a tight schedule making multiple local stops. I’ve had plenty of run-ins with idiots who have no clue about driving around a school bus and some of the dumber ones have faced me as a gleeful witness in traffic court when paying fines or losing multiple points off their license.
Like I said, rock hauling construction dumpers aren’t carrying live passengers or nor do they have the qualifying endorsements for it. Spilling a few rocks is a lot different than spilling a few kids, but don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen plenty of sh*t drivers in both professions over the years. Idiots are gonna be idiots no matter what they drive and the laws of physics will always favor the driver of a larger vehicle in an accident.
I took a lesson from LLPOH, he said he avoided big rigs. I learned to stop short when a big rig is making a left turn around me and I learned to let them go first at a 4 way. Those damn rock haulers on Palmdale Blvd east of 90th can and will pull out in front of you, they are assholes, I avoid that route now.
EC (did I get that right?), you learned to drive over the internet from LLPOH? At the age of 40+? You must be a faaaaaantastic driver.
Stop riding your damned burro on roads with cars and maybe you’ll get more respect.
Biggest truck has the right of way.
You may have the right of way but you might be dead right.
My biggest fear around here are the log trucks. A loaded log truck is about the biggest and heaviest vehicle on the road and potentially much more unstable than either a semi or a dump truck. We have narrow winding roads and if a log truck went over there wouldn’t be anywhere to go.
Saw the following and thought about Admin and his Wildwood adventures. https://www.wmur.com/article/at-least-22-people-injured-in-deck-collapse-at-new-jersey-beach-house-1/29053553
Avalon is in Wildwood this weekend with her sisters and mother. Luckily no one died.
WooHoo! Party at Admin’s!
did you notice that he didn’t let anyone know about it until late sunday pm?
some buddy he turned out to be–
When going the opposite direction, I always think a log is going to come off the truck and harpoon me.
Livestock trailers are dangerous also because the load shifts with the animals and often counter to the turn direction.
just north of me a couple of years ago an elem. school principal was killed on his way to work when a logging truck lost it’s load & rolled onto his car–
When I was 18 traveling backroads on a 4 hour trip to see my girlfriend for the weekend, there was a log hauler laying on its side on fire on a two lane road. Two cars traveling in front of me. We all nearly stopped at the same time. They stood there. I jumped out grabbed a sleeping bag ran toward the front windshield did a flying side kick on the already broken windshield and ended up inside the cab with the severely injured driver. I did not realize the front windshield wont shatters into,pieces but remains in one piece due to the inner plastic which was a pain in the ass. Finally, Drug him out laid him on the sleeping bad then drug him a hundred yards away in the grass. The other drivers still staring. The tanker blew about 10 minutes later (diesel doesn’t blow up but makes a large fire ball is all).
(Taught me a lesson about sheep.) i was 18, the 2 man sheep were well over 35 each. The sheep finally came over to us. I immediately got my car moved it fast around the now engulfed truck so I would be able to continue driving vs being stuck on the wrong side on a two lane road when medics and firetrucks get there. We had to move him while in great pain because I was distracted and laid him in a fire-ant bed, yes I feel horrible for that! I was hoping to get my childhood sleeping bag back but couldn’t wait so I left. Still miss that sleeping bag. Later that night I could not breathe, went to emergency room for diesel fuel smoke inhalation. It was making news that some stranger saved a dude. Nobody to this day knows it was me….as is how it should be.
You must be a local if you’re reading the WMUR articles. Hope to see you at Hardscrabble Farmer’s place next year.
I taught my wife to not stay next to large vehicles when driving, don’t worry about the speed limit, get past them quickly. On multi lane roads going the same direction, wait for the lane to be clear ahead of you so you can pass the briskly.
This video is for ALL vehicles not just RV’s.
How to Handle a Tire Blowout in Your RV
Good advice and a good video. Getting caught in the passing lane behind an inattentive driver and next to a semi swaying in the wind ain’t no fun. Best to wait for an opening and a quick, clean pass.
One of the big reasons I’ve always loved the Roots supercharger that came stock on my truck.
Makes passing a cinch and the noise the supercharger puts out makes a man giggle like a little girl.
Nick saw a rig turning over on his way through St Louis…on ramp to 70 into Illinois.
He managed to get by before it turned on its side. Right by the Arch.
I avoid St Louis. Big rigs out here are usually hauling logs or groceries.
Maggie a big rig lays over on a ramp at least once a month in St. Louis. Glad Nick wasn’t hurt.
Many moons ago I had a work space right off the freeway. I was inside when I heard this monstrously loud noise, an explosion and then the sound of metal on metal and a seemingly endless metal across asphalt sound. I ran outside and saw a flaming big rig trapped on the easement and as I watched the fire engulf the vehicle there were several loud explosions. The rescue vehicles never made it in time. Seems the truck also hit one of those huge signs that bridge the freeway, taking another big rig and bus along with it. It was a truly awful sight.
Never be a “Cling On”. Never drive left of a truck without passing quickly. You are taking one of his escape routes away if something goes afoul ahead of you both. It’s either crush you or put it in the ditch. If I’m driving the truck, you’re headed for the median..
I tell young drivers always speed past trucks. Pass or lag back. NEVER ride alongside. Especially on 2 lane roads.
Brings back a pleasant memory. At the corner of the 663 and RTE 309 was a restaurant with a huge sheet metal lobster for a sign. I believe it’s gone now. Replaced by some fast food joint selling corporate waste.
Trainer’s was the place with the lobster sign. Good food back in the 60s & early 70s.
Yes Trainers Corner. My-then-young kids got a kick out of the lobster.
A little farther north on 309 was Bennet’s or Benetz’ in the tudor style building on the left side. The only good sauerbraten I ever had in PA was there. One Sunday, early 70s, about 6 of us were headed home from a weekend in Philly & stopped there for lunch. We had pooled our $$ & only had enough for 2 meals & 4 extra plates. They brought burgers & fries for us all on top of of the 2 meals we had already wolfed. Gratis. Great place & really good people.
Do you remember the model RR place headed north (I think?) on 309 from there on the right side in a low concrete structure?
Good times indeed.
95% chance admin’s truck tire was a recap coming apart. Trucks are still allowed to run them for some reason. Maybe Eric will write a piece about recap saaaafety now.
As EC said, be vewy vewy careful around big rigs.
Dump trucks are a whole ‘nother kettle of fish. They are the worst maintained trucks on the road, and hey carry heavy loads that they are only just certified to carry. Watch them like hawks, as they are enormously dangerous.
For grins and giggles, next time you pull up to a dump truck, check out the tires. Odds are they are bald. dump trucks are not well maintained as a rule.
Admin – glad you are ok.
Dump truck ran over a van packed with family at 6 flags several years ago and killed them all.
semis,dump trucks,tree branches–
god is sending you a message and it is,”buy more life insurance.”
Truckers are lousy four-wheeler drivers who decided to “make the big money” stay away from them.
Cell phones sure haven’t helped our distracted driver problem.
In a period of about 15 seconds the car ahead in the fast lane blew a transmission in a big cloud of smoke fluid was everywhere all over the road, as the car ahead in the center lane had its left rear wheel come off. Happy i had antilock brakes.
Trucks are dangerous give them a lot of room.
And we all know that a computer-driven vehicle will handle this situation PERFECTLY…RIGHT? Whether it be the car behind the truck, the truck with the blowout, or the other cars passing through the debris field. LOL.
I drove truck for several years – log truck out if Pilot Rock, Or; belly and end dumps for the Harney County Road Dept.; flatbeds hauling LVL lumber from and veneer to the Louisiana-Pacific plant in Hines, Or. I sometimes pulled a 52′, but usually drove a maxi, which is a 40′ main trailer with a 20′ ‘pup’ behind.
My usual trips went from Hines, OR to the Willamette Valley area and back every day. About 550 or 600 miles roundtrip. Occasionally to Boise, ID or south to the Medford area, but generally one mill or another in the Valley. On one trip I was returning to Hines from Rosboro Lumber in Springfield, OR and had just went through Sisters, Or which is roughly halfway to Hines/Burns.
I had just gone through Sisters, maybe 3 miles past, when a guy with a CB got my attention. I had just lost a tire off of the back right of the pup, which had duals. He had watched the tire spin off and go blasting across the highway and miss a little oncoming car by only a couple of feet. This is a heavily travelled area and the stream of vehicles is constant, both directions. I looked back in time to see several cars swerve and dodge and then the tire bounced out of sight along the barpit. For those who don’t know, these tires are pretty big and heavy.
Anyway, I pulled into the KOA/fairgrounds that was less than a mile further. The guy who had called me pulled in. He was amazed that no one got slammed by the runaway. He said that it was seriously close to a wreck for at least 3 or 4 cars.
I walked back and found the tire almost a mile back, about 10′ off of the pavement. The guy who had stopped helped me load it into his pickup and return to the rig.
So yeah, big rigs should be watched closely. Sometimes the drivers are a danger, but most are pretty good at what they do. Shit happens. And if shit happens with those rigs, it can get real ugly real quick.
I remember another time… naw, that’ll do.
Hm… maybe I’ll write a book –
Jim, while I greatly respect the average big rig truck driver, they’re death traps on a highway with smaller, more fiberglass compacts. Even more so if these driverless-promoting loons get their way.
I’ve said for years that my strategy to getting them off the road and to make our economy more efficient and less dependent on petrol is to rebuild our rail. Take the truckers, train them in the new tech we use in rail and get them to help build it. Rail is 250-400 mpg…efficient as heck. It’s also a lot safer. Truck the goods from the depots, but use rail for the heavy lifting.
We’re spending hundreds of billions on war and welfare. Before the FRN shits the bed, we may as well get one last infrastructure package out of the ChiComs to rebuild America (grid hardening, rail, maybe even Thorium power? -> https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?singlepost=2491667).
But real solutions or at least discussions of real solutions are for sane governments. Too bad the world doesn’t have one.
RRs are vastly cheaper than trucks and should expand, but instead have ripped up rails everywhere to avoid the government taxes on them. Liberalism/Welfare is killing America.
Atlas Shrugged…and rail has improved in efficiency, making the argument open and shut from an engineering perspective. It’s the union lawyers and bankers who stand in the way.
railroads have abandoned a lot of track over the years w/o being pushed by bankers & unions–
They’ve abandoned a lot of track since the Hepburn Act, the birth of the AFL/CIO, and more recently the greenie weenie movement. Unions and govt. have been the enemy of rail for a very long time.
Also, go take a look sometime at some of the big investors in driverless rigs. They don’t give a rip about the safety of the average driver.
Like I said though, it’s too sensible and not profitable enough. More efficient, safer, and conservative? Yes, but immaterial. America will just have to watch Russia and China do it throughout Africa and Asia for pennies on the dollar compared to our transportation strategy.
no argument about any of that but i still believe rr mgmt has been short sighted–
why abandon any rails in a rapidly growing state like fla.,which they’ve done multiple x here?
why are the greens after them?
The greens have been after them for a while due to the very rare but potential for oil spills, environmental disasters, alleged damage to the land, etc.
I can’t argue about whether or not the rail industry has been short-sighted. I don’t know enough to speak to it. What I do know is that the rail lines need to be maintained, and for private industry to do it is extremely costly — let alone the potential for regional monopolization like we see in fiber and cable.
This is one of those present-day examples that is applicable to what Adam Smith laid out in Chapter V of Wealth of Nations. The physical rail itself should be nationalized and the railroads can use them at will.
Admin,
You need a dashcam!
I had never once seen a big rig tire blowout until I was 42 years old, and then I saw it happen twice in one day (a very, very hot late April day in CT). That morning on the way to work, I saw a tire blow out on a hill about 200 yards in front of me in my lane, and later that day on the way home from work, I was passing a rig on the right (he was in the center lane of three), and I glanced over and saw this big bulge on the side of the front tire, and immediately knew what I was looking at- I immediately pulled onto the shoulder and stopped the car and the tire explode seconds later.
Neither caused an accident. I haven’t seen one blow out since then (11 years now).
When I first read the headline, I thought Admin may have had a bit too much curry last night.