PICS! 80MPH, big ass chuck of retread, side view mirror, and impact

[Madd96///M3]

I never saw it coming. I was driving home from college for the weekend, just cruzin' along. Out of nowhere i hear, "BAM!" Then screams from the passenger seat. When i come out of shock i say fuck a few times, and then try to figure out what i hit, or what hit me, or wait, did i hit anything? The girl in my passnger seat goes, "Is the windshield broken too?" "too?" i think. Then i look over to see some wires flappin' in the wind. I pull over, along with about 5 other cars, and find out a 18wheeler's tire got ripped up and hit a bunch of cars. My side view mirror was broken off clean. There are a few scratches, but aside from losing the mirror it didnt look too bad.
Everyone was aiight. The retread hit right in front of the girl in my passenger seat and scared the shit out of her and me both. I just got the car back from the stealer. Parts, labor, and repaint cost me about $450. :mad: A lot i know, but they did a good job. Oh well. Now fo' the picz.

[Madd96///M3]

close up

[Preppy]

Damn, that sad to see dude. Glad everyone was ok and unscathed....I really hate driving around those big rigs because of situations like that...

[Madd96///M3]

yeah, i never saw the truck, and it didnt stop or anything i dont think, crazy

[Preppy]

Yeah, my dads X5 had a chunk of rubber smack the windshield when we drove down to Key West,FL....luckily nothing happened...

[Jim O.]

You lucked out - last year, a truck kicked a hunk of retread into my car. Took out the passenger headlight, broke my radiator, took out the grill and nosepiece, dented my hood, and bounced up onto the roof and put in some dents there, too. Ended up to be over a thousand bucks in damage...

Anyway, glad that nothing happened to you or your passenger, and that the damage to your car is minimal.

Jim

[LinearX]

I was narrowly missed by a big peice of kicked-up retread a few days ago. This is a major hazard, I don't know why more isn't done about it. It'd be interesting to see some statistics on how many vehicles are damaged, even people hurt/killed by this problem.

[Madd96///M3]

yeah for real, a bunch of cars were already pulled over before i was. One guy ran over it, and it dented his car all up, and then got twisted around his wheel to where the wheel wouldnt spin. I guess i did get pretty lucky for the most part.

[Willy///M3]

Madd96///M3 you got lucky , I hit a retread a couple of months ago and it tore out my mesh grill, broke my auxilary fan, and broke my foglight. Needless to say I was pissed. I hate driving or taking long trips at night on the highway because I am afraid I will hit another retread.

[DiScoTeknix]

*newb alert*

what is retread?

[porkyzilla]

for a second i kept seeing everyone hitting retards, lol, :help i need glasses

[Madd96///M3]

retread is the tread part of the tire that gets replaced on trucks. Its not always been connected to the tire, so its a lot easier to break off.

[PoloJag]

Man, that sucks. Sorry to hera.

[///M_Wraith]

So did the trucker/company reimburse you for the damages?

[Leemos]

If you ever see a big rig parked look at the tires I have seen tons with completely bald (or tearing apart) tires. I have even seen them driving without the retread part, this is such b.s. and damages a lot of cars. I stay completely clear of big rigs

[Madd96///M3]

no reimbursement for the damage. Since nobody knows what truck it came off or when..etc, the cop just called it a accident with no one to blame or sumpin. I could have claimed on insurance, but with 6 points id rather just pay for it myself and not involve insurance, cuz they are already screwing me on prices as it is. Oh well.

[LinearX]

I lost a couple foglights and my power steering fluid to semi-truck debri not too long ago. Thing is, this debri was a semi-truck's FLOORMAT.

I still have an annoying rattle somewhere underneath in the back that started when it got kicked up at me.

It's ridiculous. I'm sure you guys have had your freshly washed cars sprinkled with shit from a nearby truck before. It took FOREVER to get the marks out that this mystery crap left on my clearcoat. Then you see the sign on the back of the truck: "NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR CRAP THAT FALLS OUT AND HITS YOUR CAR".. bull shit you're not!

If that guy's tire locked up because of the retread, he could have been killed as his car went completely out of control. I should search to see if there's some sort of campaign on replacing tread before it becomes a serious road hazard. I don't have a doubt in my mind that people are getting more than a banged up car here, they're getting hurt.

Don't get me wrong on semi trucks here. Almost every product you and I buy has been on a truck at one time or another. It's a large part of what makes American's economic gears turn. But this is a hazard that's gotten way out of hand, and not just because it hit close to home.

[FrankW]

ouch....did the insurance cover it? road hazzard?

i hit those paper plyboard couple weeks back when i'm driving on the freeway. It made three scratches on the hood of my car. the longest one is about 11 inches long. Tried a lot of wax and etc. just can't get it all out. I can still see it from certain angle. :(

[Madd96///M3]

Originally posted by Madd96///M3
no reimbursement for the damage. Since nobody knows what truck it came off or when..etc, the cop just called it a accident with no one to blame or sumpin. I could have claimed on insurance, but with 6 points id rather just pay for it myself and not involve insurance, cuz they are already screwing me on prices as it is. Oh well.