Almost nailed by a baby bed

[Venturous Randy]

This is another one of those stupid idiot threads.

I was having a great weekend in the Chattanooga area with Lady Linda and on the way back north on I-75 near Sweetwater, TN, while running with traffic at about 75mph, a pickup truck with a full size baby bed lost his load. I was the first car behind him and fortunately not too close. Then, all of a sudden, this baby bed just raises up and the wind just flipped it every way. I hit my brakes without trying to slow too quickly, as I had an 18 wheel truck behind me. With moving over to the shoulder about a half lane, I was able to miss it. With the truck behind us, I was not able to see very much on what went on behind him. The guy in the pickup did slow and pull to the shoulder and when I went by him, I blew my horn at him. I don't know if he did back up or what.

The interesting thing is with the temperature being about 70 degrees, I was really wishing we were on the bike. But, after that event, I was kinda glad we were in the car.

It never ceases to amaze me at how many people will throw something in the bed of a pickup and take off down the highway without any kind of tie downs in place. I just hope that this idiot did not cause a crash behind us because there was a lot of traffic.

RandyA

[Yammer Dan]

I had a close encounter with a 4x8 sheet of plywood couple of years ago. And the lady couldn't understand why I was upset!!

[BEER30]

A few years ago on I-95 South, coming out of Raleigh a pregnant roller skate lost it's hood. That sucker flew right off it's hinges straight up in the air about 60' high. Cross wind would have put it right in our lane. There were 50+ bikes returning from the "Salute our Troops" in our Rolling Thunder group. I was last bike as I pulled the BEERCART. All I could say was "Incoming" over the radio as the felt like sloooooow-moooooootion. How in the heck it happened, but that hood hit the ground just feet from the pavement without incident.

 

BEER30

[Reddog170]

Last summer on 34 west of Mt Pleasant Ia a full size mattress blew out of a pick up and killed a guy on a bike. The pick up drive got a ticket for unsecured load and that was it. Like I said before, we need Mad Max defense on our bikes anymore. Shaun

[mraf]

We had to do a very quick slow down to keep from rear ending a car that was trying to miss a rolling semi tire in Cleveland, Ohio. Semi didn't stop until he was miles away. He was then strapping down the other two tires he was carrying on the flatbed.

[aharbi]

I was on the bike and I had to dodge a hide-a-bed couch that fell off a pickup. The civic behind me hit it, spun out and took two other cars with it. Taught me a lesson, I never follow a loaded pick up down the highway.

 

Another time in my truck I ran over an almunim ladder laying in the highway. Pulled over to check damage and the owner of the ladder who was standing on the side of the highway (I-35) trying to retrieve it, wanted me to pay for it! Idiot, always the "other guys" fault.

[BuddyRich]

It never ceases to amaze me at how dumb some people can be. ALWAYS tie down your load. That's what those things in the side of the bed are for duh!!! I even tie down a single gas can in the back. Don't want it sliding around.

[SilvrT]

It never ceases to amaze me at how dumb some people can be. ALWAYS tie down your load. That's what those things in the side of the bed are for duh!!! I even tie down a single gas can in the back. Don't want it sliding around.

 

I agree... but what things in the side of the bed are you talking about?? None of the trucks I've owned have had them, not even my recently purchased 2005 Silverado ... which I thought would have.

[BuddyRich]

05 Silverado didn't have them. Jeeze. My 05 Dakota has loops on the side in the back of the bed and 2 holes in the bed in the front with a loop inside them. My 08 F150 has 2 loops on the each side of the bed one in front and one in back. These are all factory. Wonder why GM didn't put any on there's. Had an 03 Sierra and I don't remember it having them, come to think of it.

[SilvrT]

05 Silverado didn't have them. Jeeze. My 05 Dakota has loops on the side in the back of the bed and 2 holes in the bed in the front with a loop inside them. My 08 F150 has 2 loops on the each side of the bed one in front and one in back. These are all factory. Wonder why GM didn't put any on there's. Had an 03 Sierra and I don't remember it having them, come to think of it.

 

Ya, that puzzled me too .... ummmm geez, I wonder if they're in behind the box liner.... I gotta check that out.

 

I lied a bit tho on prev post as now that I think about it, my 1986 Mazda and my 1989 Toyota had some kinda tie-downs if I recall .... but none of my "american" made trucks did.

[Pam]

My 05 2500 HD Sierea has four hooks in the four corners of the box.

 

Frank

[Bobcatpat]

I never follow any kind of vehicle that could lose an object. pickup trucks an trailers are bad news. I pull a construction trailer with a bobcat loader on it. I always cringe when someone is following me too close, especially if they are on a bike. Sometimes there are small stones or who knows what that could fall off and do harm. I do my best to make sure my load is safe for the road, but people also need to do themselves a favor and not follow too close. Defensive driving... follow at a safe distance, or pass.

[BuddyRich]

Yep, Anything that has been in the dirt,gravel or whatever is always losing rocks and junk when they hit a bump. I always try to do what it says on the back of the dump truck "Stay Back 200 feet"..

[a1bummer]

I have a topper on my 78 F100 to keep all the goodies contained. I still bungee some things down to keep them from rolling around.

 

Quite some time ago my step-dad to be had a couple arcade machines that he kept at some of the local bars. One day he decided he was gonna take them to a new place. He put them both in the back of his pickup standing up-rite. I mentioned that we should tie them down, but he insisted they would be fine. Needless to say, he only had one left about a mile later down the road. Why is it grown ups think they know everything?

 

Bill

[OldBear]

Saturday coming home from Nashville I got to play "dodge 'em" with a 5 gallon plastic bucket that went flying out of the bed of a 350 dually in front of me. High pucker factor......