Driving home from the office yesterday, I was about 3 car-lengths behind a Jeep Wrangler on the interstate moving along at a nice clip - 60mph or so. Without warning, the jeep apparently ran over a 4' long shredded length of semi tire (lorry tyre for you wonderful people across the pond) and never swerved or hit his brakes.
Of course the tire flew up and back and slammed into the right front of my Landy. It bounced up, slapped the right-hand side of the windshield, and then slid across the right front quarter panel and front passenger door. I like to think I'm a better than average driver, but there was absolutely no time to react. I stayed in my lane and let loose with the most exquisite string of curses you can imagine. The jeep meanwhile slammed down the accelerator, wove a path through traffic and across 3 lanes to put distance between us. Too bad for him he had an odd personalized license plate (Virgina Tag LUXAMAR), and it stuck in my head. While I'm sure it's all going to be on me because it was a simple "road hazard," but for f---'s sake, you'd think that on concrete white tarmac in the middle of a sunny afternoon it'd be f---ing hard to miss seeing a huge black shredded tire in your lane, right?

Anyhow... it's the next day and my rage has subsided (thanks to more than a couple Fuller's), but by All That Is Holy I will find and have a chat with that bastard.

Now, more importantly, the damage...
I LOVE this automobile. It took a helluva smack to the face and I only have a small dent where the front of the hood angles down to the grill, lots of rubber smears (which 80% of which rubbed right off), and a small dent on the bottom front corner of the passenger door. With luck, my local body shop - a bunch of old rednecks with a magical touch for bodywork - can estimate it at $1500 and fix it for under $1000 (thereby negating me having to pay my deductible).

What chaps my arse, though, is the fact that the &^(#*$^*()!@ in front of me NEVER even tapped his brakes or swerved, then took off without even seeing if any damage was done, and that I've only had this wonderful little Landy for THREE F---ING WEEKS. *sigh*

Sorry... had to vent.

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

They were designed that way - to be pheasant repellant! Everyone can spread it - Anyone can catch it. Stay home - the life you save can be your own!

Navigator wrote:

They were designed that way - to be pheasant repellant!

The pheasants around here now just duck if they see a Landy, the have learnt there is enough clearance

Worst tyre hazard I nearly ran across was a complete wheel off an army Series III in the middle lane of the M6 in Cheshire. I had to swerve into the BMW lane a bit smartish  GONE - '07 TD4 GS manual Zermatt Silver
LONG GONE - '55 Norton Dominator 99 SS cafe racer

How about a reel of barbed wire used for fencing. One fell off the back of an old defender pickup on the A36 just outside Frome Market. Missed it, luckily. 5 miles later, while waiting at some temporary traffic lights, the farmer noticed that one of his reels was missing, did a 3 point turn and went back to find it.

my dad was driving up to scotland when the car in front threw up a 4' long piece of 2"x2" wood

it flew through the air straight for him and with a last minute swerve as it happened so fast it hit his A pillar at neck height

very shuck up after that and had to pull over till he stopped shaking

Years ago I was working on an investigation into a lost wheel incident from a heavy goods vehicle as they were then known. Various things emerged in the investigation, and as a result I did a bit more research into the whys and wherefores of lost and loose wheel incidents.

After that I became quite paranoid about driving quickly on motorways (freeways) at night. I was staggered how many of these incidents were occurring. There were about 8 people killed in UK each year. 3000 incidents reported to the police. Unreported, nobody really knew.

All for the sake of doing up the fastenings properly for which there now is a code of practice. Prior to that it was monkeys operating air guns, on nuts winding up dirty threads, and people bouncing around on the end of bars slotted onto the wheelbrace. Too much torque is as bad as too little btw.

On the M62 many years ago in an Austin Ambassador (official title "The Worst F ing Car Any Idiot's EVER Built") and a 12" strip of rusted metal was thrown off the back of a truck and embedded itself in my bonnet. A few inches higher / mph faster etc it'd have come through the bloody windscreen.
Unfortunately the Ambassador (company car) was repaired & I was able to (had to... ) drive it again. ...

Be true to yourself. That way happiness lies...

A similar number of years ago, a colleague was driving west in to Wales on the M4. He suddenly saw an object in front of his car at head height. It smashed through the windscreen, clipping his head, but more importantly, killing his pal in the passenger seat instantly. He lost control, careered off the highway in to the grass banking. The object turned out to be a lift-out stanchion from a drop-side truck. (The bit the side and tail boards latch on to). Scary! 10MY (Sept 09) TD4 HSE Auto in Stornoway Grey (Now Gone)

08 FL2 TD4 SE Manual in Rimini Red (Now Gone)

Had something similar a few years ago at 70mph on the M8 in very heavy rain. I was behind a large motorway maintenance truck, keeping my distance as there was a lot of spray, when a 4x2 foot sign was blown from the back of the truck. Didn't even have time to react as it came flying at my windscreen. Luckily it dropped at the last moment and landed on the bonnet and grill (flapping about in front of me. Got to the hard shoulder but before I managed to stop the sign slid off the bonnet and went loudly under the car.

The truck continued on its merry way.

Update:

Finally got in to talk with my insurance adjuster and the total came to $2150US (1285 for you good folks across The Pond). The reason it was that high compared to the damage seen in the pictures? Well... someone threw a rock up at me yesterday and cracked the windscreen. I mentioned that I saw a tiny chip after the tire hit, so they tossed that $600 bit in, too. Happily, I know a guy, so to speak, who has a bodywork shop and is a phenomenal craftsman. He offered to do the job for $1700US (thereby negating my need to pay the deductible and leaving me with a bit to toss at the rental car while the work is being done). All things considered, I'm not too angry!