Excitement on I75..............

fred cook · fred cook's Garage

Took my wife to a doctor's appointment yesterday (Wednesday) in downtown Atlanta. Afterwards as we were headed south on I75 just below Atlanta, traffic was heavy as usual, but moving along at about 70. So here's the situation: There was a white Honda Civic in the left lane one car length ahead of us (I was driving in the next to left lane) with a black hot hatch beside him just in front of my F150. All of a sudden, the left rear wheel/tire came off the black car and when the now wheel-less corner hit the ground the dragging corner turned the hatch sideways in front of my truck but moving towards the white Honda. The Honda driver managed to slow some and dove for the emergency lane and the black hatch wound up sideways in the left lane. AND, while all this was going on, the now loose wheel/tire was rolling and bouncing down the highway just in front of my truck! The tire was zigging from side to side like a well controlled hockey puck and I was having a difficult time deciding which way to move to avoid hitting the tire. It (the tire) finally decided to go left, I went a bit to the right and managed to avoid being involved. Also while all this was going on, I had one foot on the brakes and one eye in the rear view mirror to make sure that no one was about to swallow up the back end of the truck! I've owned this truck about 2 years and this was the first time the anti-lock brakes were activated! The last thing I saw in the rear view mirror as we rounded the next corner was all the traffic behind us coming to an abrupt stop! All this happened about 4:00pm so if you were caught up in the traffic jam now you know what caused it!

pwd72s · 04-20-2017, 09:09 AM

You dodged one...literally and figuratively.

legion · 04-20-2017, 09:14 AM

Just a typical day in Atlanta.

bivenator · 04-20-2017, 09:21 AM

Nice driving.

varmint · 04-20-2017, 10:12 AM

Going to be an interesting summer. For the second time in two weeks the highway between anchorage and kenai was shut down for hours due to reports of tweaker with gun.

One was arrested. The other ran into the woods and offed himself.

Baz · Baz's Garage

Wow Fred.....glad to hear you dodged that wheel!

Did you happen to catch it on a dash cam? That would make a great YT vid!

legion · 04-20-2017, 10:31 AM

On a related note, I've come to appreciate how the harsh winters in Illinois do a good job of cleaning the barely-running crap off of the road annually.

fred cook · fred cook's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baz

Wow Fred.....glad to hear you dodged that wheel!

Did you happen to catch it on a dash cam? That would make a great YT vid!

You are correct, that would be great video! Unfortunately, I did not have a camera set up in the truck. It would be interesting to see what my wife and I actually said during the "happening"!

ckelly78z · 04-20-2017, 01:13 PM

I don't think there was ever a time that you can travel through Atlanta without coming to a screeching halt (all 7 southbound, or Northbound lanes) at least once. There is also no way to travel though without having to switch lanes several times to remain on I75.

rattlsnak · rattlsnak's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by ckelly78z

I don't think there was ever a time that you can travel through Atlanta without coming to a screeching halt (all 7 southbound, or Northbound lanes) at least once. There is also no way to travel though without having to switch lanes several times to remain on I75.

7 lanes?? Parts of it are 12 lanes wide now on each side and still massive gridlock..

fred cook · fred cook's Garage

Over the years I have had lots of "close calls" but nothing like this one! Back when I was learning to drive, my dad taught me to watch what traffic was doing 15-20 cars ahead. That bit of wisdom has saved my bacon many times! Way back in 1968 I was driving a Triumph Spitfire north on I75, just north of the connector (where I75 and I85 run together for a few miles). I was in the middle lane (3 lanes north back then!) and a guy in a Ford Fairlane station wagon was in the left lane next to me. I noticed that he kept looking down at a map and then up at traffic. I decided that was bad juju and moved over to the right lane. Just then, the car ahead flashed it's brake lights, the guy in the Ford panicked and nailed his brakes causing his car to hit the concrete divider and then bounce off into the space I had just vacated! If I had gotten a full on sideswipe in that Triumph, it would have put me in orbit! I guess the bottom line is that I don't mind having to drive thru Atlanta on the interstate, but I sure do relax once I get across the Chattahoochee River bridge!

legion · 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fred cook

Over the years I have had lots of "close calls" but nothing like this one! Back when I was learning to drive, my dad taught me to watch what traffic was doing 15-20 cars ahead. That bit of wisdom has saved my bacon many times!

Yep, it's amazing the clues you can pick up on when you pay attention. Like someone looking down at their phone constantly and then quickly looking around in all directions. They are lost, and look out for rapid, unexpected lane changes.

Or someone parked in the left lane who rides the left shoulder, then almost drifts into the right lane, then their speed slowly declines, then they rapidly speed back up to the speed limit. Most of the time, they are texting--unless it is a night on a weekend, then they might be drunk.

It's also amazing how many other drivers never look more than a car ahead of them and frequently get into accidents that can easily be anticipated.