Pulled a "nostatic" hit debris on the freeway - not for the faint of heart

[Elombard]

I am just sick. 18 wheeler flat bed had a strap hanging off of a ratchet tie down. Strap went under the wheel and ripped the ratchet tie down off and left it on the interstate. ( did not see the truck):-((

Scary ride broke the brake master cylinder off and punched the pedal assy up under the dash - new meaning to the word no brake pedal. Also ripped the floor pan up all the way back and put a big dent in the SSI. Was able to pull off with the parking brake. Another car pulled off same piece of debris had holed his oil pan - what a mess. I am going to try and get a piece and have it welded in. Restoration Designs new pedal cluster area is not available for a couple months. The real kicker is I have a track day in early March I am organizing, really want to try and get back on the road for that!!!

Any body have any thoughts like - thats not repairable.....:-((

[Jim Richards]

Geez Erik, that really sucks to have debris mess up your sweet RS replica. I'm curious, do you think there's any possible suspension / frame damage? Hopefully not.

Over the years I've had to deal with a box spring (couldn't avoid) and a pick-up truck load of furniture (avoided while driving my MG Midget!!!) debris on thr highway. It's dangerous out there!

[singpilot]

Oh man..... were your feet nearby?

Just kidding. Lucky again.

I have stopped doing the nighttime commute across the desert ever since the truckers have stopped giving a **** about anything except making it across the country ASAP.

The trucking mafia has taken over the long haul highways. The California Highway Patrol has FINALLY started citing truckers for the ADW's (yes, that assualts with a deadly weapon) that the trucks have resorted to in protest of the speed limits imposed on trucks on the interstates. Pulling out in front of people passing at legal auto speeds.

Not removing or reporting debris dropped from trucks (tire treads, straps, cargo).

Sorry for the rant, but has become readily apparent that the trucking industry is headed for drastic new legislation. Like bans on trucks during commute times, bans on certain routes, bans on certain types of trucks.

I for one am ready for that.

[RickM]

Wow, I've never seen anything like that. Glad you're ok.

I hit one of those long steel ramps from a car carrier at night a few years back. Must have taken out 15 cars.

[Tim Walsh]

That's really lousy, sorry to hear/see it. Is there anyway you could take a hammer and at least beat out the dents enough for the DE?

As a frequent "commuter", grandson of a trucker and will probably have a trucker as a father-in-law, I have to disagree. The trucking industry is just like any other industry. Name me one industry/profession out there that doesn't have any abuses or mistakes because of laziness. I just haven't found one yet. Yes there are lousy truck drivers out there who don't obey the laws set out for them but I belive a majority of them are just like us.. doing a job and trying to do it well.

Another pet peave of mine "All truckers should stay off the road because they're horrible drivers"

[v9ff]

Good Lord!!! My heart goes out to you!

[konish]

Debris on the road is exactly why I stopped riding a motorcycle...after almost getting smoked by furniture, 5 gallon plastic buckets, pallets etc I said enough is enough. Luck for me though the selling of the bikes made my re-entry into the world of 911's possible..

R/
Dustin

[pohsche]

Feel Lucky! My son-in-law who is a fireman in rural AZ along I-10 jst had an incident with one of these rachet tie downs from a semi. But with his, it kicked up from the wheels on a passing truck and punched a hole through the windshield of a mini-van and grazed the face of a 10 year old boy in the back seat. Although it broke his jaw and cut his face, my son-in-law said that if the boy did not duck to avoid it, it would have decapitated him. Sorry for the mess, but cars can be fixed.

Alan Poh
'77 Carrera 3.0

[}{arlequin]

Oh man that looks terrible. Hope nothing else is bent other than the floor. If you didn't have a chance of swerving than no one else did either.

[Overpaid Slacker]

Very sorry about your car... the negligence of some anonymous pinhead is the worst! You could've been grievously hurt by something like that; glad you're OK.

Trucking is like many other industries, sure. And many other industries are thoroughly regulated, in no small part b/c enough people in those industries cheated, cut corners, endangered others, and generally tried to get away with whatever they could. So, perhaps it is time to address many of the problems with OTR transport (drivers as well as the business itself), stiffen the penalties and enforce the regulations. A lot of this is not necessarily to punish truckers, but to take care of all the other motorists, who are at a decided disadvantage on the road.

JP

[singpilot]

Like any profession, I am sure there are some bad apples.

Unfortunately, the bad apples in that industry are infecting the entire basket.

In the last 10 years, I have seen a drastic increase in the criminal behaviour. The increased enforcement of the existing laws are not stemming the tide.

I am sure there are good truckers out there. I am sure even the bad ones are good drivers. But there is a increasing willingness to use an 80,000 pound truck to make a statement about the politics of road safety regulations. Sorry; excuse the pun, but that crosses the line into my lane.

5 years ago, I used to make approximately one 911 call on the 300 mile stretch every month (four round trips). One of those calls every month would be about a truck.

These days; 4 calls average every leg. Rarely are they about anything except a truck. Half of those end up being a stop, which I witness, and stop to talk to the patrolman. Half of those end up with an arrest, usually for some sort of impairment or an assault on the officer, believe it or not.

The statistics are getting worse, and the CHP agrees.

The good truckers should be up in arms against the bad ones.

[}{arlequin]

It's usually hard to pin liability on a particular truck b/c once something like that happens, you worry about pulling over etc. not chasing down the culprit. Other motorists just continue driving, too.

Zooming on a sportbike, I've seen 2x4's (aka "Kevorkian Sticks") all over the roads. My dad had a "freshly dislodged" trowel fly at his window. There's so much stuff out there it's scary.

[nostatic]

hopefully you have comp/collision (unlike me). I believe we have a new club starting...looks like you've got a bunch of iinsidious damage there. Sorry to see it.

[Jim Smolka]

Sorry to hear of the troubles, glad you are OK.
Is it possible to beat the metal back into place and then weld any rips in the metal???

[TRE Cup]

a good metal guy can fix all that in one day. the SSi needs to be replaced- no need to risk carbon monoxide poisoning to save some $. You came off a lot better than Todd, but all the same- really sucks when stuff like that happens.
fwiw- Jim Busby racing a 962 at Sebring unavoidably ran over a chunk of runway concrete and TOTALED the chassis. Just ripped right thru the tub. Now THAT is expensive!

[mm86911]

That's a shame. . . and you were just getting that car dialed-in. As others have said, good thing you weren't hurt - the car can be repaired.

[TRE Cup]

was this on the blue car? send me a pm at info@tremotorsports.com and we can discuss some options
thanks
dave

[Leland Pate]

Geez,
Not a good start of '04 for old 911's huh.
Also glad you're not hurt. Judging from what I've seen and heard TRE do with much worse, and tougher time constraints... you should be ok.

Hey, just be glad it wasn't a burning cigarette!!! KABOOOOM!

[DonDavis]

Wow!!! That must have made one heck of a racket! Glad you're ok and I also hope you can still make the track day. I'll be watching your updates as I'm curious about how you go about the repair.


Tim, I agree 100% Not all truck drivers are from hell and I also feel that until a person spends ONE day in a truck, they have no real idea what its like to navigate one of those vehicles. My hat is off to the hard working drivers that get the products to every one of the stores that we ALL go to.

Originally posted by l33t9eek
The trucking industry is just like any other industry. Name me one industry/profession out there that doesn't have any abuses or mistakes because of laziness. I just haven't found one yet. Yes there are lousy truck drivers out there who don't obey the laws set out for them but I belive a majority of them are just like us.. doing a job and trying to do it well.

Another pet peave of mine "All truckers should stay off the road because they're horrible drivers"

[Elombard]

Thanks Guys

Looks like TRE has the parts I need. I wishI was out there I would drop it off!!

Right now we are thinking of cutting a 1' square section out of a donor tub to replace the pedal box area. Then beat and weld the floor pan. The car is a bit of a bastard anyway and you wont be able to see the damage unless unerneath but it is still pain full to do that much surgery. I guess the key will be to get the holes all in the right spot and make sure the pedals mount level so you cant tell from driving.