Driving while sparking

[ecotourist]

Some years ago we were driving on the interstate near Council Bluffs, Iowa. The highway was very quiet. We saw a puff of dust on the horizon that got progressively bigger and bigger.

Eventually we met quite a spectacle. First there was a police car, flashing lights on and going as fast as possible down the center of the 2 oncoming lanes. That was followed closely by an ambulance, flashing lights on and also going down the center of the 2 lanes. As I looked in the rear view mirror I noticed the ambulance had no rear tires on the left side, so this driving performance was only on the dual rims. They were being followed by either 9 or 12 police cars, lights flashing, 3 abreast on the 2 lanes and all going as fast as possible.

I've often wondered what that was about. I think you could base a whole novel on that scene.

 

[Leo99]

Originally Posted by MrMoody
Originally Posted by splinter
Several of the drivers around me seem to be doing it on occasion.

Presumably that herb is for medicinal purposes.

Same thing I thought when I saw the subject.


Me, too. I'm disappointed.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted by 1000MPH
Several years ago, a Ford Explorer parked up the street. I noticed I could see the steel belts poking through. Looked closer and there was a completely worn brake pad lying in the gutter. Was it a coincidence? How bad does it have to get before a brake pad falls out of the caliper? Maybe it was just the shim? Then the horror...a baby seat in the back. I think about it now and then and I wish I did something to help them out.


If these guys had bought something like a Saturn or Neon they'd have saved enough money on gas to keep it in good repair.

Uh, yeah, right.

They'd have blown the money on takeout and fancy cell phones. Some people you just can't help. And they're important-- they have an explorer, so they can sit up high, and drive through snow to get that pack of cigs.

Too bad about the kid. Can't choose your parents.

--- On Topic ---

Followed a tractor-trailer with the right-rear trailer brake throwing a pinwheel of sparks, with the drum shaping the special effects. I was in my newly-purchased Mercedes, driving up from NC, and could barely keep up. I was trying to nurse my own car home and didn't want any delays. I also didn't know how to turn on my dome light, so I couldn't pull up next to him and wave him to the side. AND, I had a shorted out cigarette lighter so couldn't charge my cell phone. Like a bad dream! He eventually pulled over 30-40 miles into my trailing him. I'm amazed the heat didn't make it through the wheel rim into the tire, catching it on fire. Or maybe it did.

 

[Anon9283]

Haha a couple months ago visited my father in law in Philadelphia and on the way to the airport to fly home there was some girl in front of us swerving, probably texting, then suddenly her left rear tire blew and she kept driving for a couple miles on the wheel with people getting out of her way. I still wonder if she ever stopped.

 

[dlundblad]

I saw a car hauler semi sparking from a rear wheel one time. He didn't look to be dragging anything.

 

[Earls1st]

forgot this one (a lot more than sparks): driving east on I-90 just east of Spearfish; because of road construction road compresses to two lanes, so oncoming traffic right next to us. I'm reading some elk harvest numbers from Colorado. The guy driving the Suburban I'm in says something on the order of "Wow, look at this!" I look up and in the oncoming lane a white cargo van appears to be landing (back end in the air). As the back tires meet the pavement flames erupt from underneath the van (it looks like a movie stunt), then we meet. I can feel the heat through the rolled-up windows of the Suburban as we meet. Our driver pulls off on the next exit to decompress. We look back to see black smoke on the horizon. Our driver says the event was initiated by another vehicle losing a flat (snowmobile), unloaded trailer. The van ran over the trailer and got ramped/launched into the air. I checked the South Dakota Highway Patrol for a month after I got back - no mention of the incident.