Adrenaline Rush!!!

[kevincook]

I had a huge adrenaline rush yesterday and not the good kind. I was riding home from work on the interstate when I heard this really loud BOOM! It was so loud that I actually felt the concussion in my chest. I got on the brakes and slowed to about 40mph right away. I didn't know what the noise was at first and it seemed to take forever to figure out what happened. It was probably only half a second though before I noticed a big cloud of dust coming up around a tractor trailer about 300 yards in front of me. My first thought was a blown tire so I was looking for tire pieces in the road but I couldn't imagine a tire making that loud of a noise, especially considering how far back from the truck I was and there were 2 cars between us. I was trying to figure out what else may have made the noise when I started to notice small pieces of tire on the road ahead.

I was going slow enough that it was easy to weave through all the pieces on the road. It took about 10 minutes for my heart rate to come back down after that and for the adrenaline to wear off. I didn't really come close to hitting anything or being hit but it sure did wake me up!

I hate retread tires, why do they let the truckers use them?

Be safe out there.
Kevin

[grifscoots]

Them boogers are really dangerous, even after the fact when the gators lay on the highway.

Another fun one is when the highway is divided by a cement barrier, a wreck happens on the other side and pieces are flying over said barrier.

[munson]

I hate retread tires, why do they let the truckers use them?

Be safe out there.
Kevin
That's a rush of a bad kind!
As for the retread thing, I wondered about it myself. I googled it and found some interesting articles.
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/ara_retreadedtiresth
http://www.retread.org/Rubber/index.cfm/Article/320.htm

It seems that lack of proper maintenance is to blame.

[cuffer101]

I hate retread tires, why do they let the truckers use them?

I drove tractor trailer for twenty years. The gators you see on the sides of roads are most likely from brand new tires. I forget the the numbers but its something like 80% of the gators are from new tires. Chuck

[KMC1]

Just imagine if you had been passing him when that happened :eek: :eek:
You'd probably have jumped clean off and would have been standing alongside your bike in the air for a second before tumbling down the road! :eek: Like Roadrunner and Coyote! :p

[RonKMiller]

But wait, there's more! :mad:

As of today, MEXICAN trucks will be allowed to cruise our interstates! Thank you W. :rolleyes:

POIFECT! WOOB WOOB WOOB WOOB, nyak nyak nyak. :crazy:(said while slapping myself in the face with both hands and dancing around backwards in a circle on one leg.)

[bowlesj]

Just imagine if you had been passing him when that happened :eek: :eek:
You'd probably have jumped clean off and would have been standing alongside your bike in the air for a second before tumbling down the road! :eek: Like Roadrunner and Coyote! :p

That's why - never,never,never,never ride along a truck for more than 3 seconds.

If riding in a group of 2 or more, I let the guy in front of me clear the truck then I zip by as quickly as possible.

When people wonder why "..you need all that power on a bike", there is your explanation.

Glad you survived, Kevin.

[K1200LTryder]

But wait, there's more! :mad:

As of today, MEXICAN trucks will be allowed to cruise our interstates! Thank you W. :rolleyes:

POIFECT! WOOB WOOB WOOB WOOB, nyak nyak nyak. :crazy:(said while slapping myself in the face with both hands and dancing around backwards in a circle on one leg.)



That wasnt W's deal....you can blame that one on "Slick Willie"....1994 Nafta agreement.

I wonder if Monica had picked out the blue dress by that time....

[calikid]

Whats almost as scary my first time I heard one blow was when I was working security at a bank. With the way the freeway was designed the noise sounded like somebody set a bomb on the back side of the building. I now drive for a living any tire can blow like that. It is usually caused by not having proper tire inflations with the duels. That causes one to heat up and deform till they blow. I have personally put more then 250,000 miles on a set of retreads and that was changing them out early for some really bad snow roads that I must run every winter. They still had 50 to 75000 more miles left in tread. Also being beside when one goes is not the most dangerous part it is being behind. Most only come off the side of the truck a foot but the force the put out behind can be very deadly. Have had one come through my windshield from the car that it bounced off of deflecting it up into my truck.

[DaveDragon]

I too had a sphincter tightening experience last evening on the way South to St. Petersburg for Biff-Burger Bike Night.

On US19 South the exit lane to 49th street has concrete barriers lining it as there is construction in progress, as always.

Anyway, as I slid into the Turn Lane to 49th Street, I see a large wheel barrel laying on it's side across the turn lane.

I did a quick punch turn left then right to clear it.
With no place to stop to get it out of the road way, I told a cop at a red light about it and he radio called it in to get it removed.

Back a month ago, I was on SR54 behind and SUV in traffic that was moving well when I found myself riding over squares of SOD that were blowing off of a SOD truck ahead of us. The SOD truck lost an entire pallet of SOD on to SR54 over a two mile track.

Obviously it's not the drivers fault as he can only do so much at a time, driving 70 mph and weaving in & out of traffic in a flat bed truck loaded down with pallets of SOD, talking on the phone and drinking beer is just a full load for some folks. Jack Arse...

[ChiefMn]

I had a box spring mattress go up in the air like a kite in front of me yesterday. It flew out of a trailer where it wasn't tied down.I was hard on the brakes watching my mirrors to keep from getting rear-ended when the guy in front of me turned it into toothpicks and stuffing.I was gonna stop and tell this ass what I thought of his stupidity,but the look on the guys face who hit it in his brand spankin' new pickup made me realize that guy had bigger issues.

[PMitchell]

That wasnt W's deal....you can blame that one on "Slick Willie"....1994 Nafta agreement.

I wonder if Monica had picked out the blue dress by that time....

I looked for that garment in the Smithsonian . . .couldn't find it :cool:
Perhaps it's at the Clinton Library. :rolleyes:

[motorman587]

I hate retread tires, why do they let the truckers use them?

I drove tractor trailer for twenty years. The gators you see on the sides of roads are most likely from brand new tires. I forget the the numbers but its something like 80% of the gators are from new tires. Chuck

That it was a retread???

I also heard that Mexican truckers have a better inspection pass record than the US truckers.

[RonKMiller]

That wasnt W's deal....you can blame that one on "Slick Willie"....1994 Nafta agreement.

I wonder if Monica had picked out the blue dress by that time....

NAFTA never had any contingency to allow them to go more than a few miles past the border - UNTIL Bush and the DOT pushed it through despite strong objections from Congress.

The carnage is about to start - and here's why:

• Inadequate records of Mexican truck drivers’ history; a reported 40,000 traffic violations by Mexican truck drivers have not been entered into the State of Texas’s database. That only one state - toss in CA and AZ and I'll bet the numbers are into the hundreds of thousands of violations. Most American truckers go many years before getting any tickets - they're THAT good.

• The questionable authenticity of many Mexican Commercial Drivers Licenses (CDLs); checks of the validity of Mexican CDLs within the Mexican database resulted in an almost 20 percent failure rate.

• The government will not be able to inspect every truck coming into the U.S. due to a lack of full-time inspectors and a limitation of space at border crossing sites, especially during peak periods of travel.

• There are still no certified drug and alcohol testing laboratories in Mexico. The quality of samples that are currently sent to U.S. laboratories is also questionable.

Gee, can't imagine any Mexican truck drivers would be high on tequila and reefer while driving.... hell, its the national pastime.

Besides all of these issues - here's some more to chew on:

Will the drivers be required to carry a Mexican passport as U.S. citizens are required to present their passports when entering the country from Mexico?

Will all U.S. standards be applied to Mexican drivers, including the requirement that U.S. drivers undergo regular physicals and meet minimum age requirements?

Will Mexican truck drivers participating in the pilot program be required to undergo drug and alcohol testing in U.S. labs?

Who will oversee the collection of random samples for drug and alcohol testing of the Mexican drivers while they are in the U.S.?

Will the drivers be checked against the terror watch list, or will our borders be open to anyone with a Mexican driver's license?

How can DOT assure the U.S. public that all trucks will be inspected by U.S. officials in Mexico and at the U.S. border when fewer that 10 percent of all Mexican trucks entering the commercial zone are inspected today?

Will U.S. wage and hour laws be enforced for Mexican drivers during the pilot program?

How will DOT enforce hours of service rules and prevent false log books and fatigued drivers from entering the U.S.?

I've driven several thousand miles in Mexico by car and mc - it is absolute chaos - worse than you can EVER imagine. I can only think they'll bring their ineptitude here. :mad:

[cccpastorjack]

The gators you see on the sides of roads are most likely from brand new tires. I forget the the numbers but its something like 80% of the gators are from new tires. Chuck


I haven't done a scientific study, but no one will ever convince me that retreads are as safe as new tires...no way. I worked in a retread shop and the return rate was high...a lot higher than new tires. No comparision. It is obvious when you see a gator that most of them are retreads.

And the argument from the previously listed website that retreads are just as safe as new tires...Oh, lets see...that came from a NEUTRAL source :rolleyes: ....He is, and I quote, "...Harvey Brodsky, managing director of the Tire Retread Information Bureau (TRIB), a non-profit, member-supported industry association dedicated to the recycling of tires through retreads and repairs...."

Now there is an unbiased opinion! :histerica :histerica

[kevincook]

I can't believe that we are actually going to let Mexican trucks in this country. The one thing that I am sure of though is that many states will figure out that truck inspection stations can be very profitable.....just another revenue stream for the politicians!

The Mexican companies will find out really fast that they can't send the trucks that drive around Mexico into the US without the states hammering them with astronomical fines!

We should require the trucks to be equipped with GPS tracking units that automatically report violations of hours driven, etc.

Kevin

[sparky_k1200lt]

That wasnt W's deal....you can blame that one on "Slick Willie"....1994 Nafta agreement.




Uh...no, that was George H. W. Bush's baby, that he fast-tracked. Signed by Bush in '92. By the end of '93, the Senate/House had already approved it, and Willie didn't know any better than to sign it.

[surfran]

Kevin,

Glad to hear it turned out this way. I kinda know what you are talking about except I was in my car a few years ago passing a truck when it exploded. I thought it was a bomb and my wife screemed in horror. Luckily we had just passed the actual tire so it went behind us (or pieces at least).

I just kept on motoring figuring it would be best to clean the shorts at the next stop.

Fall is here, we need to have a get together ride and maybe a tech session. I know I am about ready for both (need to do a 36K and need a new rear tire).

Can't do anything for the next few weeks, but maybe in early October.

Randy

[Sofitel505]

I can't believe that we are actually going to let Mexican trucks in this country. The one thing that I am sure of though is that many states will figure out that truck inspection stations can be very profitable.....just another revenue stream for the politicians!

The Mexican companies will find out really fast that they can't send the trucks that drive around Mexico into the US without the states hammering them with astronomical fines!

We should require the trucks to be equipped with GPS tracking units that automatically report violations of hours driven, etc.

Kevin

Believe me, its not just Mexican trucks that are a menace. Up here, if you see a rig behaving erratically or in a poor state of repair, you can be sure its got B.C. plates and a turban driving it. The state patrol has them pulled over routinely for all kinds of crap. The fines are a small cost of doing business the cheap and dirty way they are used to. It wont change until the politicos see a political cost associated with their inaction. Unfortunately, it will take a large scale disaster with loss of life before anything is done. The usual.

[Flash9677]

I have a friend who was blown off of his bike on I-75. He was in a coma for 2 weeks. Lucky for him, he had just put on his leathers and full face the stop before. He wears the torn up jacket all the time to remind others to wear their gear.

[gfspencer]

Just imagine if you had been passing him when that happened :eek: :eek:

The same thing happened to me the other day. I was about 300 yards behind a dump truck when I heard a loud boom. One of the dump truck tires had blown. I was far enough behind that I was okay but some guy was passing the dump truck in a nice old Mercedes 250SL or 280SL convertible. He got his car beat to pieces. Both the car and the dump truck were pulling over to the side of the road by the time that I passed.