Took the 914 out today to drive to work. Nice CA fall day here ...

Going down 880 doing about 80 or so, the car in front of me runs over something that looked like a brake caliper in shape and size.
The thing flings up in the air and comes down right in front of me, hitting the front bumper about 2" away from the oil cooler and proceeds under the car making loud noises while hitting the floorpan.
It hit right next to the MC (no skid plate), under my seat and in the back.

At this point i'm not sure if it hit the engine, headers or transmission.
So i slow down and look for oil smoke out the back, the oil pressure dropping or the check engine light coming on.

After a few miles, all still seems fine, so i speed up again. About a mile down the road, traffic in my lane slows down (i'm in the left lane) so i switch over to the right and there's a car stopped dead in the 3rd lane with his blinker on trying to cut over 3 lanes to take the exit he missed.


I slam on the brakes and luckily there's just enough space one lane over between a truck (18 wheeler!) and a SUV for my car to slide in. Smoking tires and all.
I think i invented a few new swear words right then and there ...


I get to work and the front bumper has a big crack but at least i didn't see any oil leaking and i'm still alive. Could have been worse ...
Andy

Glad your ok ! I drove mine today to, over Vasco. I had a 2" pipe fitting come through my windshield on the passenger side on 880. That was in my jeep, probably would have flung right over the 914.

Vasco = El Camino de la Muerte

Maybe the guy missed his exit because he lost a portion of his brakes a few miles back...

True dat. The ride home is fun though, I take Patterson Pass road if its not too dark.

im used to it, random debris always hits my car. i think i made a thread about it a while back. even had huge chunk of ice push the windshield onto my lap once. that was the worst.

Andy,

It can be just that fast. Glade you are OK. Sorry that you have that crack now and hope that is all the damage to your car. I got hit before with a tire that came off a truck in front of me.

Not fun and can be a disaster

Bob

Glad your OK, I ran over a box of frozen fish once (not with my teener) that I couldn't avoid and what a jolt, actually lifted my front end into the air momentarily. Hope the damage to your car isn't too severe.


Ian Stott
Moncton
Canada

Could be. But why was he still in the 3rd (of 4) lane after more than 8 miles down the road? Shouldn't he have tried to get off the freeway before that? Change lanes while moving with traffic?


This guy clearly tried to get to the exit, he even used his turn signal! It didn't look like he was stalled. Just trying to "merge" while standing still with cars zipping by him left and right at 60+ mph ...



Where i come from, people have to go to school to get their drivers license.
One thing you learn is that you NEVER EVER stop on a freeway. Especially not because you missed your exit.
Just keep on driving, take the next exit, turn around and drive back.

But i digress. I live in America now. New country, new rules ...
Andy

I'm totally with you, Andy. I've gone on many a rant about the fact that in the USA, a driver's license is considered your primary identification, and a rite of passage for teenagers.

Can you imagine if pilot's licenses were handed out with the same degree of testing? A car is probably a more deadly weapon than a Cessna 152, and yet...

Ya, and if you rear ended him it would be your fault !

Unfortunately, they hand out drivers' licenses here to anyone who shows up with enough money for the fee.

I did a few 360's on South Vasco back in 1995 (when I lived in Livermore) in my 84 Fiero! Bald tires and a little rain don't mix!! I had just exited 580 and headed towards Lawrence Livermore Labs when it happened. After that experience my tires get more attention before the rainy season!

Glad to hear your good, But the car?

Actually that turn from 580 to Vasco that direction is always bad first rain. A lot of trucks take that exit and must spill diesel. They just re-opened Vasco with major changes by the twisty dump area so no more fun in the 914.

A slight clarification.
You live in CA....that is unique in traffic and especially highway etiquette and lack therof.

Rich

Same up here; we have new citizens arrive who have never seen snow let alone drive in it.

Welcome to Canada, here's your license. Try not to die this winter.

That's pretty funny, coming from someone in MA. Evidently you don't drive anywhere near Boston... The drivers around there are called "Massholes" for a reason!

--DD

Oh snap!

25 years old + 6 mickeys big mouths + big left hand down hill sweeper curve (going from livermore) ... nevermind old memories

glad your o.k. andy

Some days the world is out to kill you and probabilities do not favor you.

I should post pics of the cabrio and falling chunk of overpass into windshield incident.

I dodged a chunk of overpass coming into the windshield at 60, swallowed safety glass.

Safety glass powder and slivers makes you shit funny, your body does process it though.

Coincedentally that same night as my accident with the falling overpass, my ex fiancee's parents called to tell me that she had died and it was a pretty odd day...... All full of odd internally meaningful events.

Pics:









That hole you see is in line with the drivers head rest... I literally dodged that fucker comign into the car at 60.

Either it fell off the overpass or some kids threw it over. It happened at the 295 and 50 split in DC on 295 south headed into the ghetto, where the projects are.


the rock is my new favorite paperweight. If I let it out of my sight it may try to kill me again.

Andy...

Glad you are OK, and that there is no major damage to your car.


And for what it is worth, it happens here too. I see idiots on a 6 lane highway trying to make an exit from the left lane in rush hour traffic all the time. Betty and I have even decided that EVERYONE is out to get us, and we drive like they are.


I think I have an answer to why. The bozone level in the atmosphere is rising, and it is much higher in populated areas. Inhaling too much bozone makes you drive like a total idiot.

The CARB should measure the bozone emissions on all the cars on California and actively work to reduce the emissions of bozone.

Now come on Dave, we tend to be more aggressive sorta like cab drivers in Naples or Rome. We do still maintain some etiquette on the highways.

On a side note when you over this way again? We need to get Ed V up here and have a beverage or three.

Actualy, a number of people I have known who have had pilots licenses for a long time think that is now the case. Apparently back in the good old days in order to get your basic single engine land license you had to be able to do a number of things that now require an aerobatics ticket.

I remember back when...

If I had to guess, I'd imagine that the less stringent private pilot certification requirements are as much a function of the planes as the pilots. Demonstrating that you can recover from a deep stall in a 152 could probably rip its wings off.

That said... if I ever do go for my certification, I'd immediately pursue Instrument rating as well. Don't want to be another JFK Jr.

Yeah...coulda been me!

Oh, and just for the record... I drove in metro Boston for six years. There were plenty of Massholes, but I had just one accident (not my fault, someone backed into me in a crowded parking lot) during that time.

Moved to Metro DC, and I've been averaging almost an accident per year, none of them my fault.

Massholes are the primary source of road rage in the known universe, but most of them know how to drive. DC-area drivers are just morons.

All of this is much more interesting when your primary is a Harley. Brake calipers and rocks can do more than take out your windshield.

At least nobody will hear you scream like a little girl. Open pipes and all.

Harley Davidson::::: The most efficient way to turn gasoline into noise without the side effect of creating horsepower.

I live in Maryland and I approve this message.

On the original topic...

When I was 17 or 18, I borrowed my mom's Saab 900 convertible. I was on the highway doing about 60 when I saw a huge chunk of truck tire about 30 feet the air ahead of me (I think it was kicked up by a pickup truck that ran over it). Fortunately, there was space in the next lane for me to swerve, and I avoided that piece.

About ten seconds later, I saw a smaller chunk flying toward me. Probably about 1 foot long, couple inches wide. I sqeezed over just far enough for it to land next to the car, but it hit the ground at an angle - bounced toward the car and smacked the left front wheel pretty hard.

Being a teenager, I of course downplayed it... but the car never drove right after that. About a year later, the axle had to be replaced.

Sorry, Mom.