What a strange couple of days. Both yesterday and today I had to call the Florida Highway Patrol to report ladders on the highway. It is not unusual to see the ladders on the road on a rare occasion, but this was strange. On two different days, one right after the other, I came upon ladders in the middle of Interstate 95.
The odd thing about the incidents was the time and location. It was virtually the same time of day and the locations were within a mile and a half of the other.
Obviously, the ladders fell out of the beds of pickup trucks. How coincidental is it to have ladders fall off in almost the same place at the same time of the day.
Luckily, as far as I could tell on both days, no one was hurt or vehicles damaged. It was strange calling the Highway Patrol to report the same thing at the same hour one day after another.
Debris in the roadway can be scary. This is particularly true for those driving motorcycles. A couple of years ago, a young man with whom I was acquainted died after striking a ladder that had fallen off a pickup truck in the middle of Interstate 4.
Another problem associated with roadway debris comes from following the vehicle in front of you too closely. If you do not allow enough room to see and avoid any trash in the road that may be hidden by the car in front, there is a very good chance the car ahead will pick up the debris and sling it at you. What do you think of the video below?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOhgMAOrp0c]
If you are driving on the interstate or a highway, do yourself a favor and allow a little distance between you and the car you are following. This is particularly true if you are driving a motorcycle.
If you are driving a pickup, please make sure you secure your load.
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© 2011 J. Clark
Oh yeah, not my windhshield, someone else’s.