View Full Version : Motorway Debris
One thing I really hate about motorways is the amount of road debris. More so if you hit any.
This evening driving home on the M4 to Chippenham from Swindon, in the dark with drizzle, the car in front hit a large object the size of a big dog that bounced up and went into the front of my car, it took out most of the lower front bumper and its made a right mess of other front bits including the lower radiator bits of pipework and parts of the wiring harness are now dangling. Apart from the fact that this will cost me a few hundred pounds to get fixed I guess I was pretty lucky as the air bag did not deploy and I did not loose control of the car and damage any other vehicle. I was bloody lucky that I was not on the bike because as I sure as beenz is beenz I'd have been off. :shock:
After reporting it to the police as soon as I could (which they were very greatful) it was clear that some idiot had not secured the item to their vehicle and now I'll be out of pocket to get the car fixed as well as the poor driver in front who hit it first. I don't think it was an animal as there was no blood or guts on the car. The fact is that the @sshole who owned the item has got off scott free.
The car is now off the road till I get it fixed. Oh well, another one to put down to experience. Will not be claiming on insurance if at all possible as the excess will make up a large portion of the cost. At least I should keep my no claims.
Guess I'm just pi$$ed off so sorry for the rant.
Aw that really is nasty. Very nasty. Is there no hope of identifying the owner of the item. Or can you complain to the Highways Agency? After all they employ people to patrol motorways to remove this sort of crap.
I had a similar incident a few years ago on the M20 but in my case it was a lorry on the opposite carriageway which had blown a tyre and it was the tyre tread that hit my car...I was third in line to be hit...We tried tracing the lorry via CCTV but the cameras were out of action that morning so no luck there. Cost my employer around £3000 in bodywork and another £1000 to replace the A/C unit which sits behind the front bumper on th 307... :?
Good luck with it :wink:
Yup looks like its the AC heat exchanger is toast. Can't see any fliuds leaking which is a good sign (AC stuff would have evaporated). The car still steers OK and appeares to run OK. Will have to wait untill the garage puts it up on ramps befre the full extent of the damage is clear. It could have been a lot worse though.
fizzwheel
08-01-07, 10:51 PM
Had a close one with a Oxy Acetalene ( sp ) gas bottle on the A303 last year. It must have fallen off a lorry and it was rolling about in the middle of the road. I was glad I missed that I can tell you.
Always drive at a speed that will allow you to stop well within the distance you can see to be clear.
:-dd
Always drive at a speed that will allow you to stop well within the distance you can see to be clear.
:-dd
Absolutely right!
Just a late night joke, you have my sympathies.
:D
454697819
09-01-07, 07:33 AM
you might be able to claim from the MIB
worth checking out..
I'm forever calling the police to remove debris form the road... usually there very great full just the odd obnoxious idiot it he call centre wondering why i bothered to breath,,,
I'm forever calling the police to remove debris form the road... usually there very great full just the odd obnoxious idiot it he call centre wondering why i bothered to breath,,,
I'm the same here, and always make a point of calling the local station rather than the non-emergency call centre, or 999. I've always had a better response (in terms of attitude & time) whenever I've called the local station direct to avoid the Chinese whisper message system they must use.
The last 2 incidents I've had like this I was pretty damn lucky too. About 1sq ft of wood in the middle of the road, thrown up by the car in front of me. In the car, there was nothing I could do except duck as it hit the windscreen, luckily not causing any damage. On the bike, I swear it must of been the same bit of wood, same size & colour, I swerved, but because of the nature of flying wood, it swerved towards me & clipped the right fork, again, luckily, causing no damage.
Beenz, seems like you came off pretty bad from a fairly hefty object. You have my sympathies fella, and hopefully it won't cost too much to get fixed.
Rob S (Yella)
09-01-07, 09:17 AM
you might be able to claim from the MIB
worth checking out..
I think the MIB will only help with personal injuries caused by untraced/uninsured drivers/vehicle. Not sure if just vehicle damage will be covered.
Then again I am setteling a claim with the MIB and the cost of my Bike and leathers are a part of the claim so who knows.
good luck.
I borrowed a mates Saab 9000 turbo and a lorry threw up a brick which went right into the headlight. :cry:
timwilky
09-01-07, 09:20 AM
In the days before seat belts being compulsory, my boss and his wife were unfortunate enough to come across a railway sleeper lying across their lane of the motorway late at night, poor headlights too fast, insufficient warning etc. I was only an apprentice at the time. But the whole department got a promotion as he exited his car through the front windscreen.
They never did find out who was responsible for dropping the sleeper and I don't think any trucker would have held their hands up.
the_runt69
09-01-07, 09:32 AM
Be careful out there today folks, theres all sorts being blown across roads today, had a tree down on one of My railway lines before I came home this morning.
H
Be careful out there today folks, theres all sorts being blown across roads today, had a tree down on one of My railway lines before I came home this morning.
H
Those 'leaves on the line' have turned into 'trees on the line' :lol:
PsychoCannon
09-01-07, 09:41 AM
The wind has been throwing me around like a furby the last couple of days :(
Had an incident coming OFF the M1 a while aog that left me with a nice new scare and a write off bike and no-one to claim from :(
Debris from a car collision hadn't been taken off the slip road so as I came round the round about off the slip road a bit of bumper or something hit my rear tyre and sent me into a wobble which I didn't recover from :( (I would of if it hadn't of been for the grit and gravel all over the road!)
you might be able to claim from the MIB
worth checking out..
,,,
:shock: MIB
http://upload5.postimage.org/163801/imagesukuku.jpg (http://upload5.postimage.org/163801/photo_hosting.html)
the_runt69
09-01-07, 09:43 AM
Those 'leaves on the line' have turned into 'trees on the line'
Nah it was only a branch line
H
Mr Toad
09-01-07, 09:50 AM
A while back I was going to a meeting near Cambridge with a colleague who happened to have one of those 4 wheel drive Vauxhalls (Cavalier or Carlton - can't remember, but it was a beast of a car at the time)
We'd just filled up and pulled out of a petrol station onto a dual carriageway, and went to overtake a lorry. It flicked something into the path of the car - we later found out it was an axle stand :-k
Large bang and bump as it went under my side of the car (passenger), followed by an even bigger bang as it sheared off one of the rear wheels, causing the car to collapse onto the road.
At this point the petrol tank decided to give up, and dumped the contents onto the road, which promptly caught fire with a most impressive fireball following along behind the car :shock:
My recollection of what happened next is a bit hazy, but it involved lots of shouting and swearing, and I ended up standing on the hard shoulder and he ended up standing on the central reservation, with both of us shouting "Are you alright" at the other. Fire brigade eventually turned up, by which time the car was well alight. I remember one of the firemen returning the sheared off wheel to him, saying "I think this is yours" . :lol:
The woman who ran the company car pool wasn't too impressed when he put it next to her desk a few days later, with a post-it note explaining that he was just returning what was left of the car . . . #-o
PsychoCannon
09-01-07, 09:54 AM
:lol: :lol: A photo of her face would of been worth more than words ;)
Rob S (Yella)
09-01-07, 09:58 AM
you might be able to claim from the MIB
worth checking out..
,,,
:shock: MIB
http://upload5.postimage.org/163801/imagesukuku.jpg (http://upload5.postimage.org/163801/photo_hosting.html)
Motor insurers bureau.
A fund set up by the government that all insurance policies contribute to with the aim of compensating victims of untraced and uninsured drivers.
The problem is there are so many hit & runs and uninsured drivers they don't have enough money to give out so are very choosey about what claims they will deal with. Which is why I do not think they will get involved in just vehicle damage.
They have accepted that my claim from my hit & run in 2003 is a valid claim. Without them I would have no chance of any compensation so thank you MIB.
Rob S (Yella)
09-01-07, 10:01 AM
The woman who ran the company car pool wasn't too impressed when he put it next to her desk a few days later, with a post-it note explaining that he was just returning what was left of the car . . . #-o
:D :D :D :D :twisted:
Warthog
09-01-07, 10:04 AM
A fireball behind you must have been scary stuff!
I was driving along a country road when I saw a big lump of wood lying accross the other lane. My brain sort of started processing it as I went round the next corner and sped over the fields. Suddenly a sportsbike came screamin towards me and hurtled past me towards the corner I had just come round. I suddenly clicked and waved and flashed at him and slammed on the brakes, but he was long past me. I did a quick three pointer, with my heart racing having horrible visions of him wiped out just round the corner, so I screamed back up the road. round the corner there was nothing, just the piece of wood in the middle. I stopped and chucked it in the ditch, but was really glad that the guy had somehow avoided it. I just had some sickly premonition, and it gave me a heart attack.
I guess Its not my time to be lucky. First inspection quote is in excess of £1500 :shock: , front bumper + radiator + intercooler rad + AC + blah blah.... oh and classified undrivable thats before they put it on ramps to see what else is damaged. Does not look good.
No holiday for me this year. :evil:
Signed Fed Up of Chippenham.
I guess Its not my time to be lucky. First inspection quote is in excess of £1500 :shock: , front bumper + radiator + intercooler rad + AC + blah blah.... oh and classified undrivable thats before they put it on ramps to see what else is damaged. Does not look good.
No holiday for me this year. :evil:
Signed Fed Up of Chippenham.
Damn that sucks. Whats your excess? Perhaps its worth claiming afterall.
Warthog
09-01-07, 03:23 PM
Aw that bad news mate. :(
Had a close one with a Oxy Acetalene ( sp ) gas bottle on the A303 last year. It must have fallen off a lorry and it was rolling about in the middle of the road. I was glad I missed that I can tell you.Wasnt from a Black GMC van was it?
you might be able to claim from the MIB
worth checking out..
,,,
:shock: MIB
http://upload5.postimage.org/163801/imagesukuku.jpg (http://upload5.postimage.org/163801/photo_hosting.html)
Motor insurers bureau.
A fund set up by the government that all insurance policies contribute to with the aim of compensating victims of untraced and uninsured drivers.
The problem is there are so many hit & runs and uninsured drivers they don't have enough money to give out so are very choosey about what claims they will deal with. Which is why I do not think they will get involved in just vehicle damage.
They have accepted that my claim from my hit & run in 2003 is a valid claim. Without them I would have no chance of any compensation so thank you MIB.
They helped with my calim in 2003 as well. Got paid out thank you very much
fizzwheel
09-01-07, 04:06 PM
Had a close one with a Oxy Acetalene ( sp ) gas bottle on the A303 last year. It must have fallen off a lorry and it was rolling about in the middle of the road. I was glad I missed that I can tell you.Wasnt from a Black GMC van was it?
Thinking about it, it could well have been. :lol:
I guess Its not my time to be lucky. First inspection quote is in excess of £1500 :shock: , front bumper + radiator + intercooler rad + AC + blah blah.... oh and classified undrivable thats before they put it on ramps to see what else is damaged. Does not look good.
No holiday for me this year. :evil:
Signed Fed Up of Chippenham.
Damn that sucks. Whats your excess? Perhaps its worth claiming afterall.
With that sort of bill jst for starters I've got no choice but to claim on the insurance, the excess is a few hundred pounds so I'll still be out of pocket.
Problem is it'll affect the bike insurance as well as it's clasified as an at fault claim even though the claim was not with that company. With all the insurance companies shareing data to stop fraud claims they'll find out anyway. Hope my next premium isn't too badly affected but you never know. Will have to wait and see. Just got to hope it doesn't price me off the road. Thats life I guess. :?
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