Be Careful When Following a Pick-Up Truck

civicdabest-foo

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I drive a lot on the highway between the two major cities in Saskatchewan, Canada.

I see badly tied down loads all the time and have seen plywood come off trucks/RV's and spare wheels come rolling off of tow trucks.

I had close calls with those aforementioned items riding a motorcycle.

Yes, this stuff happens, and there is a reason why the RCMP and highway patrol come down hard on people who violate rules associated with strapped down loads.

On a side-note, based on what I've seen, plywood and other flat objects can go flying off in mid-air and tumble and spin for many seconds before reaching windshield level. Even a few seconds of following distance is not enough. I'd just pass any truck carrying loads not strapped down with ratchet straps. It's near impossible to tell what the knot-tying skills are of the person who tied that load.

And for this reason, I stay well behind or pass semi-trailers, tow trucks, and flat-bed carriers.
 


Snoopyslr

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Right, lets blame the victim and not the moron who had an unsecured load fly out of his truck.
Both sides are to blame. It's not that hard to see if the load in front of you is secure or not.
 

Driveitlikeuboughtit

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Both sides are to blame. It's not that hard to see if the load in front of you is secure or not.
Uh, nope. Where are you even seeing tailgating? The article doesn't mention it at all, you're just assuming? That plywood could have fallen off at 80 mph and bounced around on the interstate for a good while. At highway speeds, 50 or 100 feet isn't enough to avoid something like this.

Also, you assume she could see the load. What if it was plywood stacked below the edge of the bed so she couldn't see if anything was loaded at all? From the article, the guy claims the plywood was secured (obviously not, but an effort was made.)

Seems easier to just blame the idiot running with a load not properly secured. Seems like if he had secured it, none of this would be a problem. But yeah, personally, I give wide berth.
 

Snoopyslr

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Uh, nope. Where are you even seeing tailgating? The article doesn't mention it at all, you're just assuming? That plywood could have fallen off at 80 mph and bounced around on the interstate for a good while. At highway speeds, 50 or 100 feet isn't enough to avoid something like this.

Also, you assume she could see the load. What if it was plywood stacked below the edge of the bed so she couldn't see if anything was loaded at all? From the article, the guy claims the plywood was secured (obviously not, but an effort was made.)

Seems easier to just blame the idiot running with a load not properly secured. Seems like if he had secured it, none of this would be a problem. But yeah, personally, I give wide berth.
Where did I ever say anything about tailgating?

Look, I get it. Accidents happen. Some are unavoidable, but most are not. The vast majority of people driving are not giving their full attention to driving.

Also... you may want to switch to decaf dude.
 

Driveitlikeuboughtit

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Where did I ever say anything about tailgating?

Look, I get it. Accidents happen. Some are unavoidable, but most are not. The vast majority of people driving are not giving their full attention to driving.

Also... you may want to switch to decaf dude.
I responded to someone saying "aka don't tailgate". You jumped into that conversation.

You're still blaming the victim here.

I'm thinking of a dump truck. Depending on the state, if something falls off because the Dump Truck didn't secure it properly (ie they're carrying gravel and they don't put screen over the top), that dump truck is liable. And that's the way it should be. It's a public road for all to share equally.
 


Luckyarmpit

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One of my top pet peeves... people that drive around with random unsecured shit in the back of their pickups. And worse are those that leave their tailgates open, thinking it improves their MPG.

I've said it before and I've said it again.... large trucks and SUVs are the scourge of the highways. You should have to prove you have a legitimate need for such a garishly large vehicle before purchase.
 

Hondaman_MI

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I rented a Mustang convertible in FL a few years ago. A semi truck was hauling palm trees, barely secured, looked like they were torn out of the ground with roots and dirt attached. So glad I didn’t own the car because stones were flying everywhere and I couldn’t see through the cloud of dust. Truckers need to tie down loads better and take advantage of tarps or other covers.
 

civicdabest-foo

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I don't know if I can lay blame on the Civic driver. It's not known that she was tailgating. I was on a motorbike once on the highway and a tard driving a RV camper had a plywood sheet tied onto the top of the van, where of course, the wind rattled it enough that it went flying into the air, staying airborne for about several seconds before falling to the asphalt and shattering. Fortunately I was several more seconds away from the plywood when it shattered onto the asphalt. I stopped biking that night and switched to a dirt bike for fun.

1. I could not see that the RV camper driver had a plywood sheet tied onto the top of the van, even though I was riding a bike and had a higher position than on a car. Possibly the Civic driver in Florida could not see the plywood sheet and the tailgate of the truck was stowed.

2. Plywood that goes flying does not behave like a projectile, it twists and turns, so even if the Civic driver saw it, I doubt she could have strategically dodged its unpredictable trajectory on a (possibly crowded) highway.
 

civicls

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I don't know if I can lay blame on the Civic driver. It's not known that she was tailgating. I was on a motorbike once on the highway and a tard driving a RV camper had a plywood sheet tied onto the top of the van, where of course, the wind rattled it enough that it went flying into the air, staying airborne for about several seconds before falling to the asphalt and shattering. Fortunately I was several more seconds away from the plywood when it shattered onto the asphalt. I stopped biking that night and switched to a dirt bike for fun.

1. I could not see that the RV camper driver had a plywood sheet tied onto the top of the van, even though I was riding a bike and had a higher position than on a car. Possibly the Civic driver in Florida could not see the plywood sheet and the tailgate of the truck was stowed.

2. Plywood that goes flying does not behave like a projectile, it twists and turns, so even if the Civic driver saw it, I doubt she could have strategically dodged its unpredictable trajectory on a (possibly crowded) highway.
Physics! Air resistance and drag coefficients...:pickme:
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