Strange Experiences on the Road - Share your story

[MaveRichard]

One of our members ran over a ladder. It reminded me of quite a few odd events that I have had happen on the road over the years. Instead of filling that thread where the OP is asking questions I started a new thread.

I’ll start…

5AM on a SE Ohio two lane. I had been driving all night and was following a single sedan at 60MPH when we passed a yellow VW beetle going the other way at 50+

…on the right shoulder. Sleeping passenger in my car did not even stir.

What’s your weird/scary driving story?

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[sprcoop]

Going north on 605 freeway in SoCal doing 65 MPH and got passed by an early model 280Z that was in the left breakdown lane doing about 120 MPH.

He had a con trail of dust and trash that was just amazing. Scared me half to death waiting for him to get a blow out and crash. Didn't happen.

 

[Sharksforarms]

Fresh out of highschool and driving at night; going 70 on the highway. I wanted to pass the car in front of me, finally had a chance when there were no oncoming headlights on a flat stretch of road.

I passed, merged leisurely back into the right lane, and avoided a head-on collision with a dark car that had its lights off by maybe a quarter second. I heard the whoosh and saw a dark blur zip past my window just as I got back into my lane.

Never saw him approaching, don't know if I just wasn't paying enough attention or if he would have been too hard to see even if I was looking specifically for him.

Scared the absolute hell out of me. Made me a much more attentive and defensive driver. Things go from good to catastrophic fast at highway speeds.

 

[dalola]

I drive a lot, and see so much stupid sh*t everyday, it's a miracle there isn't more carnage.

The one's that freak me out the most are the sport bikes that I don't see coming on from behind, at high triple digit speed, and then flash by in the blink of an eye, and gone. Some are well past 160mph. Even tho the highway traffic is light when this happens, it's still scary as hell, and stupid beyond comprehension.

 

[fauxhican]

......and stupid beyond comprehension.

Not to interrupt you mid-rant, but on the topic, don't react to that. I had a sport bike for period in my mid 20's, and while I wasn't (usually) taking it to those kinds of speeds, it was fun to get up to the speed limit quickly. The number of old men and minivans that would climb all over their breaks right in front of me made that bike a lot more dangerous. If somebody's riding like that, let them. You'll make things worse for everybody trying to get out of the way, just be predictable, then you can curse them out all you want afterward.

 

[dalola]

Not to interrupt you mid-rant, but on the topic, don't react to that. I had a sport bike for period in my mid 20's, and while I wasn't (usually) taking it to those kinds of speeds, it was fun to get up to the speed limit quickly. The number of old men and minivans that would climb all over their breaks right in front of me made that bike a lot more dangerous. If somebody's riding like that, let them. You'll make things worse for everybody trying to get out of the way, just be predictable, then you can curse them out all you want afterward.

You can't "get out of the way" of something coming that fast that isn't detectable until it's past you.

Accelerating to the speed limit quickly is not even in the same zip code as what I'm describing.

 

[fauxhican]

You can't "get out of the way" of something coming that fast that isn't detectable until it's past you.

Accelerating to the speed limit quickly is not even in the same zip code as what I'm describing.

Wasn't pointing a finger, despite my use of "you". Apologies. Consider my comment a version of "Look twice, save a life". Just my 2 cents on awareness, and considering bikes often travel in groups, the next rocket flying by may arrive any moment after the first daredevil. Being predictable on the road is wise in general.

 

[Maverickman74]

Had a Honda accord going the wrong way at the top of I65 in western Ohio one time. Also one night driving my first CJ7 home on Dayton-Springfield road in a particularly dark section with my 30 year old water filled headlights there was what I thought at first was a dead animal but ended up being a dang tire on a rim! My jeep was lifted and on squirrelly old Super swampers. Dodge ing it had a significant risk of losing control so I just went over it. The front differential missed it but the rear AMC 20(not a super great axle but larger than a ford 9") caught it. The rear end of my jeep jumped up what felt like a foot and crashed down wobbling every which way at about 45mph. So I pulled over checked every thing. Not a single issue with the jeep. So I went back and pulled the tire out of the road.

Ohh yeah and I seen some aliens driving around in the desert near 4 corners in New Mexico. Good people.

 

[Exranger]

Driving home from Lake Tahoe many years ago at 4 am at night. Just stopped for coffee and got back on the road. By hwy. 680 in Walnut Creek CA. area, where it is about 6 lanes in both directions. Suddenly I realized those weren’t taillights but headlights. Coming at me. I swerved right just in time to miss a yellow Toyota ,and saw The driver who flashed a look like the grim reaper. He hit a Camaro right behind me. We pulled off and went around to the median across from where it happened. The car had just exploded into 1,000s of parts everywhere. The driver was dead, the other people were alive but hurt. First time I’ve ever seen someone alive and dead a minute later. I ended up being a witness in the trial. The driver got on the wrong way on-ramp and either drugs or alcohol affected judgment.

 

[Jeff D.]

In the mid 90's I was driving truck and delivered a load of newsprint paper to the newspaper in Rapid City SD. They unloaded around 11pm at night. They were done unloading sometime after midnight and I decided to head out towards my next load to pick up in Bismark ND. I decided to run straight north on the narrow two lanes, which is very rural. Pretty much nothing but very sporatic tiny towns and large swaths of nothing.

I was coming into a small town around 2 or 3am and saw a car parked perpendicular to road off in the distance with it's light on. When I got fairly close the car pulled across the road and stopped. There was no way I would be able to avoid hitting it. I hit the brakes about as hard as I could without having the trailer pass me, and just when I thought I was going to hit the car, it reversed back off the road.

I missed it by just feet.

I've no idea why they did what they did. I just started grabbing gears and kept on going. There was no way I was going to stop to ask. My guess is they were going to try and rob me but messed up on thinking I could stop, or they were playing chicken.

Needless to say, I was wide awake for a while after that.

 

[Sharksforarms]

Not to interrupt you mid-rant, but on the topic, don't react to that. I had a sport bike for period in my mid 20's, and while I wasn't (usually) taking it to those kinds of speeds, it was fun to get up to the speed limit quickly. The number of old men and minivans that would climb all over their breaks right in front of me made that bike a lot more dangerous. If somebody's riding like that, let them. You'll make things worse for everybody trying to get out of the way, just be predictable, then you can curse them out all you want afterward.

Driving predictably applies to bikes too.

 

[Leuf]

Was driving down a 50 mph backroad with a full size pickup pulling a double axle trailer in front of me and 18 wheeler behind. I start hearing this sound like an industrial lawn sprinkler chh chh chh chh. There's a big field off to the left behind a row of trees and I thought it was some kind of irrigation equipment that I couldn't see. The truck in front slows down to maybe 35 and the sound keeps getting louder. Check my mirrors and the 18 wheeler is now WAY behind us and basically coming to a complete stop in the middle of the road and what the heck is that sound? CHH CHH CHH CHH

Then a wheel comes off the trailer and the noise stops.

I slow motion watch the wheel go bouncing across the road into the ditch and it thankfully stays in there rather than popping back out and hitting me. And I realize I'm an idiot for just gawking and not getting on the brakes. The guy in the pickup just said F-it and kept right on going at 35 and I was stuck behind him until I turned off.

The main thing I take from it is if the truck driver behind you wants nothing to do with the situation, you don't either.

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