Hitting objects on a highway

[Jardine]

I'll admit to being a prick on occasion.   

I was being tailgated by an annoying twit on a 4 lane street with center divider.  I noticed ahead a full size pallet in my lane.  The tailgater was showing no signs of wanting to pass (what is with these guys?) and since no one was around us, I waited to the last second to hop over to the inside lane, and mister tailgater nailed the pallet.  I don't know if it lodged in his undercarriage or he just pulverized it.

Yep, I'm a bastid.

[pumpkineater2]

One time I was in the car when my sister was learning to drive. There was a ladder in the road which we hit at about 45 miles per hour.

Several years ago, my family and I were headed north on I-17 and as we rounded a curve, we witnessed a police car run over a mattress in the left lane of the highway. The owners of the mattress were pulled over on the side of the road, and the officer quickly got out of his car and pulled it off of the road.

[Scott5114]

I hit a boat once.

Also a cone.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I almost hit a construction barrel on I-90 near Chicago last year when stiff winds blew it off its mount into my path. I had to come to a complete stop and was probably lucky there wasn't someone too close behind me.

[DandyDan]

I've hit live animals too many times to count exactly how many times it happened.  One time, in my old delivery job, I was driving behind a truck with a poorly secured bike and it fell out, which led to some vehicle damage.  Also, back when I was still living in Illinois, I was in Rockford by the airport and for some reason, I didn't see a tomato cage in the road.  I have no idea why a tomato cage would ever be there.

[Rothman]

In terms of animals, I was moving from the DC area out to Wisconsin.  As I was driving our U-Haul on I-70 outside of Wheeling, a huge bird of some sort (turkey vulture, maybe?) flew out of the woods and smashed into it right on the grill of the truck.  My wife, who was following me in a car and communicating to me through two-way radio, thought it was hilarious.  From her perspective, the bird flew in front of the truck and then -- feathers everywhere.

No damage to the truck, but I used my father-in-laws power washer to get the guts off of it before returning it.

[jeffandnicole]

The only thing I had fly into my car was a mattress!  Unlike pumpkineater's experience, we were following a car and joking about the mattress that was slightly lifting off the roof.  Next thing we know, it takes off and hits us in the front windshield!  Both they and we pull over.  No damage done to us, so we helped get the mattress off the road.  We left...leaving them to deal with putting it back on their roof...and hopefully more securely this time!

[2Co5_14]

Years ago I lost a mattress box spring from the top of my car on South Marietta Pkwy in GA.  The store we had bought it from tied it onto the roof rack, but obviously didn't do a good job of it.  A couple of cars ran over it before we could retrieve it from the road.  A Good Samaritan with a thicker rope helped us tie it back on so we could return to the store for an exchange.

[kkt]

I hit a squirrel a couple of weeks ago.  It ran into the road in front of me.  I braked, but it was too close to stop.  Poor, dumb thing.

[spooky]

I hit a turkey once as it took flight from one side of the road to the other.

Actually, it sort of hopped rather than flew, which is why it only ended up as high as the lower edge of my windshield.

I only slowed slightly because as God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.

[1995hoo]

I hit a squirrel a couple of weeks ago.  It ran into the road in front of me.  I braked, but it was too close to stop.  Poor, dumb thing.

I've found honking at squirrels to be surprisingly effective.

[Pete from Boston]

Years ago I lost a mattress box spring from the top of my car on South Marietta Pkwy in GA.  The store we had bought it from tied it onto the roof rack, but obviously didn't do a good job of it.  A couple of cars ran over it before we could retrieve it from the road.  A Good Samaritan with a thicker rope helped us tie it back on so we could return to the store for an exchange.

I've carried a lot of things on vehicle roofs and overhead racks, and the one thing people who haven't tend to greatly underestimate is the dreaded front-end lift, particularly at high speeds.  You simply must devote great care and attention to tying the item off over its front.  I've seen items secured tight and fast at the sides that nevertheless pulled loose, broke, bounced, and flew off.  This is a regular sight here as it's move-in season for the brain-dead college students.

I hit a turkey once as it took flight from one side of the road to the other.

Actually, it sort of hopped rather than flew, which is why it only ended up as high as the lower edge of my windshield.

I only slowed slightly because as God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.

I am a little evnvious that you worked it into a comment, in context, so smoothly.

[Jardine]

No kidding, I splattered a bat (yes, a bat) on my drivers side windshield one night.

I hate bats.

Really, they are gross.  But I didn't aim for it, never saw it till impact.  Blech.

[formulanone]

When I worked for various dealerships, you'd find out that customers would hit all sorts of things...usually stuff that's too small to see in the road, anyhow. A customer once came in for a flat tire and "a metallic clunking noise while moving". Put the car on the lift, removed the wheel, broke down the tire, and out popped a beat-up steak knife. We assumed it was also the source of the noise, so we waived the diagnostic charges.

Another customer ran over a Swiss Army Knife, which also cut the tire. We only knew that was the source of the puncture, because it had then lodged itself in the plastic undertray.

I also serviced a customer who ran over a belt...the first time I'd ever seen a fashion accessory rip through a tread.

[davewiecking]

I hit a turkey once as it took flight from one side of the road to the other.

Actually, it sort of hopped rather than flew, which is why it only ended up as high as the lower edge of my windshield.

I only slowed slightly because as God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.

So who's the youngest person here who knows the source of that line?

[blanketcomputer]

I struck a coyote jetting across the freeway here in Phoenix late at night. Poor little guy. I felt awful for days.

[sipes23]

Driving from Chicago to Wisconsin in our newish Subaru for an early Christmas, my wife heard a terrible noise develop from the car. There had been *something* in the road and she hit it. And now the car was making terrible noise. So we pulled over, and I waited for the tow truck once the dealer's porter came to get us. Since it was nearly Christmas, we were lucky enough to have the dealer's loaner car for a few days while they looked at the car.

It was a grocery bag caught in the air intake. I was really embarrassed.

[kennyshark]

Once, about 20 years ago, my front end got hit on I-696 by a flying two-by-four seemingly out of nowhere, knocking out the wire for my right headlight and turn signal. 

My personal all-time favorite, though, and my only other major object hit, was suddenly coming upon a couch in my lane on the I-96 express lanes in Detroit, just before the Southfield Freeway.  I was the car ahead of me swerve, but didn't know why until it was too late.  As it was, I also swerved when I saw the couch, but not before scraping the corner.  A bit of a scratch, but something I could live with.

[noelbotevera]

I hit a turkey once as it took flight from one side of the road to the other.

Actually, it sort of hopped rather than flew, which is why it only ended up as high as the lower edge of my windshield.

I only slowed slightly because as God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.

So who's the youngest person here who knows the source of that line?

Kindergartners reading "Pete the Cat" books.

[spooky]

I hit a turkey once as it took flight from one side of the road to the other.

Actually, it sort of hopped rather than flew, which is why it only ended up as high as the lower edge of my windshield.

I only slowed slightly because as God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.

So who's the youngest person here who knows the source of that line?

Kindergartners reading "Pete the Cat" books.

nope.

[Brandon]

I hit a turkey once as it took flight from one side of the road to the other.

Actually, it sort of hopped rather than flew, which is why it only ended up as high as the lower edge of my windshield.

I only slowed slightly because as God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.

So who's the youngest person here who knows the source of that line?

Kindergartners reading "Pete the Cat" books.

Here's a hint:

[davewiecking]

I don't think you know the meaning of the word "hint"...sorry...couldn't twist that into a Princess Bridge quote...

[Brandon]

I don't think you know the meaning of the word "hint"...sorry...couldn't twist that into a Princess Bridge quote...

"Hint" in this case being a 20 pound sledge hammer. 

[roadman]

I hit a turkey once as it took flight from one side of the road to the other.

Actually, it sort of hopped rather than flew, which is why it only ended up as high as the lower edge of my windshield.

I only slowed slightly because as God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.

So who's the youngest person here who knows the source of that line?

Kindergartners reading "Pete the Cat" books.

Here's a hint:

Wonder how many people who've seen that episode don't realize what Les Nessman's live broadcast from the Pinedale Shopping Plaza was a parody of.

[Brandon]

I hit a turkey once as it took flight from one side of the road to the other.

Actually, it sort of hopped rather than flew, which is why it only ended up as high as the lower edge of my windshield.

I only slowed slightly because as God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.

So who's the youngest person here who knows the source of that line?

Kindergartners reading "Pete the Cat" books.

Here's a hint:

Wonder how many people who've seen that episode don't realize what Les Nessman's live broadcast from the Pinedale Shopping Plaza was a parody of.

Oh the humanity!