John SCB

I was driving to work early yesterday morning on the transition road from the 405 to 105 here in SoCal. It was still dark outside. I was in the curving part of the road when I spotted a large, dark colored piece of debris (looked like an army duffle bag) about 5 yards ahead in my lane. There was no time to change lanes to avoid it. However, I was able quickly to steer the car so the debris went right under the GT without hitting the wheels/tires.

BANG! It sounded like I ran over a bag full of bricks. It hit the undercarriage hard. There was no loss of control and the car continued to run normally. I arrived at work about 5 minutes later, checked under the hood and under the car. No visible damage or leaking fluid. Great, so far.

Ten hours later I get in the car and start it up to hear a muffled growling noise that initially sounded like a serious engine problem. Checked under the hood and car again; still no leaks or obvious damage. I drove the car home and put it up on ramps. It appears the exhaust system is damaged someplace near the cats but I can't see any cracks or feel an exhaust leak.

The sound is most pronounced when the engine is cold. It doesn't sound like your typical exhaust leak (at least the types I've encountered before). I'm thinking it may have damaged the cats. S#@!!!!!

This is the fourth time in the last ten years that I have incurred damage to one of my cars because of crap that has fallen out of a vehicle. Every time it has been at night. I can't count the number of times I have avoided trash, rakes, wood, chairs, sofas, a garage door, ladders, wheel barrows, various car parts and even a kitchen stove sitting right in the middle of the freeway.

Idiots that overload their vehicles or carry improperly secured loads should be fined heavily, shot then thrown in jail for life. What are these people thinking?

ford4v429

I hate to stereotype, but...around here theres a lot of scrap haulers that are seen every week on trash day with overloaded trucks/cars or small trailers. I am sympathetic to those who are trying to scrape up a living- before we moved, I took a pair of doors, 3 quarters, and about 500 pounds of bridgeport castings out to the road- knew the scrap guys would appreciate it, if it was there in the morning, I woulda loaded it up for the scrapyard- but 1/2 hour later I see a geo tracker leaving with ALL of it- jeez. I felt bad for the guy, but that little geo was about ready to do a wheelie. all I could think was please God dont let him dump that stuff on the road in front of another car.
I havent put any quantity of anything out since, and never will...sorry, but too many of the scrap pickers are 'racing' trying to get everything before someone else does, I see them with mowers/bikes/you name it precariously dangling as they zoom by. something needs done, they are the #1 risk I see, followed by industrial trash haulers with overloaded roll-offs, followed by the 'movers' that pile lightweight stuff in a pickup and head down the highway. I do wish the local PD would start issuing warnings for unsecured loads- they could sit a block from any recycling center and write warnings every day. too many people are just way too careless. there was a lady(since passedaway) on another forum talking bad about scrappers that didnt tie stuff down, she said when hauling scrap cars she would strap them down, never dropped more than broken window glass 'that wouldnt hurt anything'- it kinda pissed me off as she was so totally unconcerned about blowing gravel sized pieces of glass off on the highway- a lot of folks do NOT worry at all about chipping/scratching/whatever someone elses stuff- or worse if a freaking appliance falls off the overloaded trailer they wont even stop to pick it up before it causes a accident...same type of folks that will door ding the car next to them everyday and never even pay attention...some folks just dont care.

chutoyy

60 West from Riverside, CA to Ontario, CA... Debris galore.. truck tires, wheels, bumpers, headlights... there was a couch on the #1 & 2 lanes before... That would have been expensive if someone were to hit it....

jaguarking11

I broke my bumper on my car last year going between queens and brooklyn. I was heading down the bqe, freaking hit a black construction bag. I saw it at the last second as it was right after the curve. A yellow cab had hit it before me. Broke the bumper nicely. 200bux for a new cover and a severely hurt ego.

I see allot of crap on the highways these days. It looks like having astronomical taxes makes for unkempt roads and trucks dumping their loads on the highway. I have run over gravel on way too many locations.

oldlugs

They're thinking about their next cerveza. SoCal roads just suck! There's a section of the 170 that always has crap spinning around on it... The only thing I'll drive through there is my minivan beater.

shooterm1

as the budget crisis spins out of control, Cal Trans is just letting the roads here deteriorate ...

its sick!

foolio2k4

one time on the 91 i went over what looked to be a metal plated door that was about 3 inches thick. Didnt have time to swerve. didnt see it until i saw the car in front bump up and down. I thought my suspension or tires were a goner. Thankfully it was just a really rough bump.

John SCB

Great stories guys.

My real gripe is with "stuff" on the road that creates a major hazard because of driver ineptness. Bricks, hay-stacks, cinder blocks, sheets of plywood, lumber, tires, angle iron, sheet metal, pipes, bolts, bowling *****, car parts, truck bed-liners, ducting, appliances, furniture....and anything else that is there because of some lame-*** **** idiot.

The camouflaged duffle bag I ran over (in darkness and in the relative apex of a high-speed transition road), would have likely killed a motorcycle rider. For whatever reason, there are some things that cannot be avoided. Those of you who have had similar incidents happen to them, you know what I'm talking about.

BTW, being a skilled and attentive driver with no accidents in over 35 years of driving, I have avoided 99.9% of the crap that's been in my way. Drive LA freeways for a few years, you'll see what we have to contend with.

I'm afraid to say this BUT - I have yet to see a kitchen sink in the road!!

oldlugs

How about a rusty, steel backyard SHED in the middle of the 5 freeway..?
Yes, really. At least you could see it from a 1/4 mile away...

Bennyandthejets

Rest assured the crap on the road in Texas is just as bad. Imagine a world where EVERYONE has a pick up and hauls EVERYTHING they own on a daily basis. Oh yea, and then they drop it everywhere.

OR we have the situation in which said truck driver clears dead dear on road without any warning to following/passing cars and then I hit the **** thing with the GT that I lowered A WEEK EARLIER.

I may just never drive again, crack a beer open, and sit in my garage just looking at my car imagining the good 'ol days when I used to drive it.

End rant.

20115.0

i know exactly how you feel, check my thread: https://themustangsource.com/f726/gl...rranty-489246/

havent had my car for 2 weeks and theres a chunk out of the tire and the wheels scraped now thanks to some idiot whos trash was laying on the freeway.

John SCB

Sorry to hear about your hassles. Yes, this is the kind of crap I'm talking about. The exact same thing happened to me on the 405 near Long Beach. Ran over a piece of pipe that blew the tire and rashed the wheel. The GT wasn't even a year old. I picked up a set of brand new take-off tire/wheels on Craigslist for $500. Now I've got 8 wheels/tires. LA freeways......sheeesh!!

Nice 5.0 ya got going there...that's my next one!

20115.0

they are awesome, im loving it. it feels so much better than my 05 in every way. youll love it

Frankobates

I feel for you brother! I had my 08GTCS passenger window broken out while i was in a store for 15 minutes in broad daylight in a packed parking lot just so some assclown could get my 2 year old ipod out of the cupholder. First time i left it in the car bam. Scratched the dam door too. You cant have anything nice anymore.