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Highway hazard

Bcsmith

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Hey fellow NC riders I would just like to share a story about my ride the other day. I usually ride the roads less travelled but I was out for a day trip and got up north where there are not many roads and an array of lakes and rivers. I was just kind of winging it as far as directions go and found a bunch of new to me backroads when I kind of got myself trapped by the waterways as most of the roads were dead ending. That’s when I came across Highway 11 and decided that as much as I avoid these roads I would take it to make a little better time on the way home. This is a divided highway with 4 lanes. So out I went and accelerated to keep up with traffic. I at all times trying to stay as far away from traffic as possible and scanning as far ahead as possible. I was behind a truck going into a bend and as I looked around him to search out road conditions I noticed something on the road ahead but then lost sight of it as the truck blocked my view but I stayed on the fact something was up there. Of coarse the truck straddles it and then it is right in front of me. I changed my lane position to avoid it and as I went by noticed it was a large coil of electrical cable. Just glad I was in position to see it so far ahead because of the turn in the highway and to prepare myself. I think it was large enough that it would have caused serious damage and probably would have dumped me as well. Just another reason I like the backroads.
 
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Good story and good tips. On highways in my area, if they’re frequented by large trucks, large chunks of peeled off tire tread on the roadway are not uncommon. Maintaining good following distance to the vehicle ahead of you gives better visibilty and reaction time. Avoid following large vehicles that block forward view.
 
Besides adequate following distance or lane position to see around vehicles ahead one can almost never go wrong by riding in the wheel tracks that cars and trucks run in. If necessary they will move to the side in their lane to avoid or straddle debris or foreign objects and often this gives you advance warning about things you cannot see yet. Riding the center of the lane is almost always a poor choice for several reasons. I'm not saying you did that or criticize you as if you did that. Bravo for seeing and avoiding and sharing your moment.
 
As they teach in riding school, a vehicle lane is divided into 3 lanes. 1) the inside lane, 2) the middle lane, and 3) the outside lane.

1) Is generally the best lane to be in most of the time. Best visibility for yourself to oncoming drivers and perpendicular drivers on both sides. You appear 'bigger' to cagers due to lane position. Farther from the road edge where debris may accumulate and wildlife may be hanging out.

2) Almost a never place to be. Position is ok although your visibility of the road is reduced. Oil and other road junk tends to accumulate here. Extra slippery in the rain, due to the oil and accumulated dirt.

3) Rider appears small at the road edge. Extra hazards described above. However a great position to have someone in if you are riding staggered with others as the headlights can appear to be a car to other drivers. People see cars.
 

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last year while on the highway in the fast lane a car in front and to the right of me ran over a object that shot up and hit me in the right leg. It was a sizeable piece of a car bumper, probably from the 70s. It impacted my knee and It felt like being hit with a baseball bat. Other than some bruising I was very lucky. I,am not a ATGATT rider but I wished I had on my riding pants. Be it objects laying in the road,falling from trees, getting thrown up by other vehicles or a bird strike. Riding can be dangerous and no matter how alert we are these things will happen in a blink of a eye.
 
Last winter we were driving our motorhome on the interstate highway and a mudflap went winging off of a truck ahead of us, went about 20-25 feet up in the air, then impacted the motorhome and caused $2300 damage. We were lucky it wasn’t worse. In the same month my sister in law had a shovel fall off a truck right in front of her while driving on the interstate, and damaged their new car. In both cases I shudder to think what the outcome would have been for a motorcycle rider. It’s dangerous out there. Like the OP said, it’s another reason I like to stick to backroads.
 
last year while on the highway in the fast lane a car in front and to the right of me ran over a object that shot up and hit me in the right leg. It was a sizeable piece of a car bumper, probably from the 70s. It impacted my knee and It felt like being hit with a baseball bat. Other than some bruising I was very lucky. I,am not a ATGATT rider but I wished I had on my riding pants. Be it objects laying in the road,falling from trees, getting thrown up by other vehicles or a bird strike. Riding can be dangerous and no matter how alert we are these things will happen in a blink of a eye.
You aren't kidding. Last Saturday I was riding through a nearby small town and just as I approached an intersection a huge branch cracked off a tree and fell to the ground. It fell just to the right of me and scared me nearly out of the saddle. The branch easily weighed a ton at 18" across. I circled back and took this picture. I was traveling from right to left across the picture and the branch fell across the road intersecting the one I was traveling.
 

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As they teach in riding school, a vehicle lane is divided into 3 lanes. 1) the inside lane, 2) the middle lane, and 3) the outside lane.

1) Is generally the best lane to be in most of the time. Best visibility for yourself to oncoming drivers and perpendicular drivers on both sides. You appear 'bigger' to cagers due to lane position. Farther from the road edge where debris may accumulate and wildlife may be hanging out.

2) Almost a never place to be. Position is ok although your visibility of the road is reduced. Oil and other road junk tends to accumulate here. Extra slippery in the rain, due to the oil and accumulated dirt.

3) Rider appears small at the road edge. Extra hazards described above. However a great position to have someone in if you are riding staggered with others as the headlights can appear to be a car to other drivers. People see cars.
Excellent advice from everyone! Also appreciate the illustration.
Great Forum, with a bunch of great people. Glad to be a member.
 
Yesterday I spent most of the day riding country roads through forested areas. The roads were usually paved, 1.5 lanes wide, no lane markings. Occasionally the roads went to 1 to 1.5 lane width gravel. I was usually all alone. It was fun. At one point I happened to get on a 4 lane divided highway with grass median for about 3 miles, with very light traffic moving at around 65-70 mph.

Shortly after getting up to 65 mph, in the right lane, on my little 250 CRF, a pickup truck comes from behind, moves to the left lane and passes. While the truck is ahead of me and to the left at about 11:00, an aluminum ladder, approximately 10 feet long, flies out of the truck bed. It’s one of those “this could be it” moments most of us have experienced at one time or another. As I mashed the brakes and tried to predict the trajectory of this ladder, it become apparently that there was one small rope “holding it down” and now the ladder is tethered to the truck and whipping around behind it. I managed to come to a full stop on the shoulder, while the truck’s driver realized the ladder had taken to the air, and eventually he too pulled on to the right shoulder ahead of me. I waited a moment for the situation to stabilize, then passed him way over on the left shoulder. As I passed, the driver looked at me sheepishly and gave some kind of two finger sign, which I wasn’t sure how to interpret.

The bottom line is that people who don’t properly secure their load to their vehicles just piss me off.
 
Yesterday I spent most of the day riding country roads through forested areas. The roads were usually paved, 1.5 lanes wide, no lane markings. Occasionally the roads went to 1 to 1.5 lane width gravel. I was usually all alone. It was fun. At one point I happened to get on a 4 lane divided highway with grass median for about 3 miles, with very light traffic moving at around 65-70 mph.

Shortly after getting up to 65 mph, in the right lane, on my little 250 CRF, a pickup truck comes from behind, moves to the left lane and passes. While the truck is ahead of me and to the left at about 11:00, an aluminum ladder, approximately 10 feet long, flies out of the truck bed. It’s one of those “this could be it” moments most of us have experienced at one time or another. As I mashed the brakes and tried to predict the trajectory of this ladder, it become apparently that there was one small rope “holding it down” and now the ladder is tethered to the truck and whipping around behind it. I managed to come to a full stop on the shoulder, while the truck’s driver realized the ladder had taken to the air, and eventually, he too, pulled on to the right shoulder ahead of me. I waited a moment for the situation to stabilize, then passed him way over on the left shoulder. As I passed, the driver looked at me sheepishly and gave some kind of two finger sign, which I wasn’t sure how to interpret.

The bottom line is that people who don’t properly secure their load to their vehicles just piss me off.
Oh man now that could have been tragic!!! Trying to guess the trajectory of an aluminum ladder being ejected from a pick up truck at 75 mph? Just wondering what the math would look like lol Just glad you escaped without a scratch.
 
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