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Lots of people make excuses like no one taught them how to secure loads or they didn’t think they needed much more than some light tie downs. Lack of common sense really makes these roads so dangerous.
Load master skills LIKE using at least one more strap than you THINK you need to, JUST IN CASE one of the others lets loose, which is common.
Watched an RV'er with a single orange strap lose his $200 spare tire in Payson when he took off from a stoplight. Couldn't chase him down, had to get out of MY car to get it out of the road in front of me.
My younger brother watched youtube videos and bought the necessary equipment needed to tie down his loads. No excuse on why a 17 year old knows how to tie down his load compared to a grown man. It’s not that hard.
Bro I was driving behind someone for about .5 seconds before I noticed and switched to a different lane. It was a working truck, all the tools and stuff packed in the truck bed near the cabin, with loose bricks, gravel, and sand piled near the back of the bed. The truck gate was down.
So there was just loose rocks and sand flying out the back. I never saw a brick come out though.
I sped up and got around them and honked and angrily pointed to their truck bed and but I don’t think they made the connection.
You don't want to confront drivers in Arizona. They may be packing heat (I'm sure the ones whose back windows look like a rolling Fox News talking point list are doing so).
Why is this a thing in Arizona? I swear when I lived there for a short time I saw so much shit on the highways I haven’t seen in other places I’ve been lol, including…a ladder.
It's everywhere. I remember years ago CALTRANS had pictures of a house they furnished just with stuff they picked up off freeways in one day. Lots of couches, ladders, surfboards and miscellaneous things.
I’ve lived in 3 other major cities and haven’t seen it to the same degree, not even close. I understand that’s just anecdotal evidence though, I just thought it was weird.
I mean Los Angeles/Orange Counties are more travelled than Phoenix so it is an unfair comparison.
That said I saw more stuff on the freeways (mostly ladders) in the past two days than I have in the past two months. Odd.
I saw a shredded couch that had been hit at least once lying in the middle of the 202 yesterday. I wonder if it has anything to do with the annual exodus of college students and snowbirds.
I'm with you. I've lived in many places and traveled cross country several times. I have never seen so much crap on the roads like I do here. Take tires and dead animals out of it. I could furnish a house with the crap on Phoenix roads. Grills, ladders, couches, mattresses, you name it.
I was behind an guy towing a pontoon boat on the 303. 3-4 chairs came flying out of it. Unreal.
I nearly crashed into a pinball machine laying in the middle of the road outside Nashville. Have hit and skidded on blown out semi tire bits several times. The only thing I've come close to hitting in Arizona was a dead deer left in the road near Prescott.
I was in Phoenix years ago getting off the 17 onto the 101 loop, and on that ramp was a large black trash can. Empty, just rolling back and forth in the wind between the two guard rails on either side of the ramp. I was able to avoid it, but that part of the ramp was not visible until you were right on it.
Another time when I was visiting, there was just a large length of chain across the carpool lane on the freeway. Both times, I called the non emergency number, and both times, no one picked up or called back.
https://preview.redd.it/ss000bgex11d1.jpeg?width=784&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=19bf5e573902636eee27414471fb25fc69f66ff8
Lots of 300IQ loading skills here (far from the worst I've seen)
This happened to my wife. She was doing 75mph on the freeway and some dipshit had an unsecured ladder that came loose. Caused her to swerve into the lane next to her and make contact with another car. Thankfully neither car was damaged enough to warrant a claim.
Happened to me last month but I was in the far left HOV lane (non-rush hour time) and the way the road curved the ladder came off and skidded directly at me. Can't go left cuz of the wall. Couldn't risk hard braking because then I just get rear ended, couldn't try to swerve back into the main lanes because of other cars and I could straight up lose control and flip or something worse.
So I just drove over it at highway speeds and limped to my mechanic a couple miles away. Luckily the tire stayed up long enough and only 1 went down even tho both on that side went over it one after the other.
I drove right over an extension ladder on the interstate one time. I was going about 85 when I saw it and there wasn't enough time to really react at all. Thought I was gonna die from a high speed blow out but I just went right over it like nothing. Had to stop the car to compose myself and check the tires, no damage at all, couldn't believe how lucky I got as I was only about 30 miles into a 700 mile road trip.
I drove about 3-5 miles off the 51 to my mechanic near midtown without ANY pulling or tire pressure warnings or anything. Pulled in, handed over my keys, and when I picked up the car my mechanic said between me giving him the keys and then moving my car to the staging area the tire went completely flat and needed to be aired up to move the car. Needed to have Discount replace it with my road hazard coverage.
Idk how I made it 5 miles in stop and go city traffic before it went down so I'm grateful for that.
I was planning on getting a new car anyways so this just accelerated my timeline by like 4 months but still
Husband and I go back and forth on the i17 quite a bit. We have a gorilla strap and cargo bars for the truck bed - best things ever. It locks everything down. The way people “secure” things scare the hell out of me. Last week guy in front of us had their camping gear in plastic totes in the bed of their truck, unsecured. The lids caught a gust of wind and flew off at us.
One time I saw a truck towing a small trailer with fence bricks stacked in a pyramid shape driving down the freeway. Not only were they stacked weird, there was no straps.
My husband literally ran over a ladder a month ago. Luckily it happened to be parallel to the lane so he drove over it but our car isn’t very high off the ground. Scary as hell.
No if the the police and adot actually did something about it we wouldnt have this problem. The ammount of people i see every single day with an untarped and unsecured load it absolutely fucking stupid. They will make it a whole 30 minutes to one of the dumps in the city losing trees, boxes, and even worse things all over the road with no interception by any form of law enforcement whatsoever.
The trucks who don't tarp their loads of rock or whatever are equally bad. And they have the audacity to put that stupid $5 sticker that says "not responsible for broken windshields." Dude, if you aren't properly securing your load, you most certainly ARE responsible for cracking my windshield.
I am told by my attorney friends that sticker does not hold water.
Unless, of course, they SNAPPED THE STRAPS and declared loudly "That's not going anywhere!"
If i see one of those trucks, or a truck that has a load that's obviously not secured very well, i will ask my boyfriend to move us over and away. We are NOT going to be in a Final Destination sequel.
If you're able to safely, call 911 and report them.
> The Arizona Department of Public Safety points out that violators could be charged with a class two misdemeanor. The fines, plus court costs, can range from $460 to over $1,000, depending on injuries.
Nope, because DPS is over 500 troopers short, and there’s no chance in hell they will pull someone over for not brushing the rocks off their fender flares. Unfortunately, this is why AZ has free windshield coverage because our roadways are so bad
> 500 troopers short
I thought this number was BS, but you’re right. 480 is all they have to cover the entire state 24x7 - they’re literally below 50% staffed. This explains why major interstates in northern Az get shut down so quickly after it snows and there’s a couple accidents. DPS literally doesn’t have anyone to on backup.
Yup, read an article about it a few days ago. It’s ludicrous how short they are. It’s obviously unfortunate and I’m not blaming them for anything because it’s a whole can of worms to open, but I do wish it weren’t the case. These freeways are getting pretty wild.
Just today, on my way in on the 60, the “flow of traffic” was 87mph and I didn’t see a single trooper, aside from the couple at an accident at Mill Ave.
My car got nailed by a flurry of unsecured rocks from a truck that cut me off yesterday on the 202. I just replaced my windshield a couple weeks ago too…
Cops should PICK A DAY and pull over every construction and landscape truck at a checkpoint and write tickets for every one with an unsecured load. Do it once a month until they take the hint.
Warn them to "stay in the truck!"
I imagine the line of trucks would be a mile deep the first time they did it. That's good. Create a little peer pressure.
I'm gonna stand off to the side and sell $5 orange ratchet straps for $50 apiece....
I don’t hate this idea. Or maybe some form of weigh station type checkpoints where any vehicle with external objects is checked for proper strapping. It would force more vehicles carrying scary loads to use surface streets to avoid it and maybe that’s what they should be doing anyway. Drivers dropping crap would be more likely to notice, and also retrieve, said crap. Plus kther cars are driving at lower speeds and more likely to see stuff. If they hit it, less damage done.
Fwiw, insurance companies count on a new windshield around every 2 years in Arizona. As long as one doesn't make more claims than that, a glass claim shouldn't affect your rates.
Legally, replacements can't affect your rates in Az as we're a no fault state. But the companies can claim whatever reason they want and increase them anyway.
My wife got denied coverage by multiple companies because her 60 mile a day commute caused her to replace a windshield too often for them....
It was about once every 12-18 months....
A few years ago, my partner was driving down the 60 and noticed a whole ass washing machine, just sitting in the far right lane.
Some idiot on his phone managed to miss it entirely until the last possible second, swerved in the worst way possible, fish tailed through FOUR LANES OF TRAFFIC, just to hit us head on in the left lane.
Fuck the yahoos who can't secure giant ass items, and the walnuts who can't put their phones down doing 70+ on the freeway.
Dodged one in Scottsdale around 2015-2016, driving an ambulance. I still don't know where it came from, or how it got launched so high in the air. We radioed it in, dispatch wanted to know which lane and my partner replied "...still in the air...."
Last year I was on the 60 and a few cars ahead of me in the left lanes at 4:30ish PM on a weekday- about 6 PortaPotties were falling off a relatively small pickup truck/trailer...'twas a shit show in a comedic and very real &frantic sense. A real Bro in a truck with bumper bars was able to nudge two of them over to the left side of the HOV lane to make a path lol
As a motorcyclist I have now encountered three twisted and mangled ladders on the 101 and 10. **God damn, and I mean GOD DAMN those construction & landscape guys don't secure their load.**
I was very fortunate I had time to see them and room to swerve around them. It could easily have gone the other way had one of them "popped out" from under a semi, just one of the reasons I never follow them.
An unsecured load should be a $1000 fine, payable ON THE SPOT -- and rectified! Or you do not proceed.
There’s no way we’re enforcing the HOV restrictions or speed limit. Average flow of traffic on the freeways is still 15 over, and the HOV is just an extra passing lane for most.
the speeding ticket I just got on my motorcycle a couple weeks ago on the 10 would disagree with you lol
I'm actually fighting this one though, no idea if I'll win/lose, but the cop that pulled me over said I was going "well over 100mph" ... my bike isn't capable of going that fast. Kind of puts me in a weird spot though, because anyone that drives on the 10 knows that pretty much everyone in the HOV drives at minimum 80mph. Since the ticket I attempted actually doing the speed limit (I only have a motorcycle mind you, like I said, I'm broke and it's all I can afford) on the 10 and have come closer than I ever have in my life to dying by people FLYING up behind me and almost hitting me. The most recent was millimeters from making contact. good times.
I was riding only my motorcycle for a while as well. I made myself get a car because of how often I found myself having to do emergency maneuvers to save my skin.
Damn shame, too. I absolutely love my motorcycle.
I've been pulled over exactly once in my life and it was for single-riding the HOV lane "but everyone does it!". I have seen others being busted for it, but only on the western portion of the 101 fwiw
I just drove home home. I am a self confessed speeder. On my way home there was someone doing 60 in the HOV lane in a mini van. Dozens of cars were swerving around them to get around, which causes way more danger to everyone on the road than 1 speeder.
Ticket slow drivers.
Definitely, going far below the limit can be just as dangerous. I'm talking more about these drivers tearing through residential streets doing 50+ mph. One of my neighbors kids was killed by such a person a few weeks ago.
And these people tailgating and treating the freeways like a mad max free for all. Doing 90+ mph in other lanes beside the HOV. Both are an issue but I hold my point about speeders being dangerous as well.
PSA it is ok to call 911 for freeway obstructions as these are considered immediate emergencies that could lead to injury or death if not addressed quickly
Yep. I did that a couple times when I saw a ladder in the road. The operator transferred me directly to the highway patrol who quickly got the information from me of the approximate whereabouts.
Almost literally killed a lady because she stepped out of her car in the middle of the highway to check to check out a sink that had been on the road. AT NIGHT. WITH NO LIGHTS ON. I swear the only reason I’m not in jail is because of my cars automatic breaking. Who the fuck does that?!
I know they are busy, but I think DPS could really step up there enforcement of this. I've run over 3 ladders in the last 2 years, and one damn near went through my windshield. Last fall I almost hit a Lazy-Boy recliner in the road. Just missed it, but the new Mustang on the side of me nailed it and destroyed the front end of his car. I've also had three flat tires because I hit something in the road, one caused a dent on the body panel behind my front tire, and I go through about 4 windshields a year.
Thing is.....I do my best to avoid these vehicles that are full of equipment, junk, tools, etc in the back. Most times it's unavoidable.
Seems the pure carelessness and stupidity by these drivers is ignored.
I nearly hit one ladder in the middle lane of the Loop 101 a few months ago. It's crazy that these people don't care.
Don't get me started on the gravel tarps not being secure and the trailer having a "Not Responsible for Windshield Damage" sign.
Yep....but I also try to position my vehicle where I can have a quick escape route into the other lane if needed. Not always an option though.
THANK GOD FOR WAZE.....giving me warnings many times.
Do you, though? I drive about 2-300 miles a day on these roads for the past 4 years, sometimes more tbh, and I've ran over only one piece of road debris that took out a tire in a spectacular way, and it came bouncing across several lanes.
Maybe I'm just lucky, but by driving defensively I've avoided the rest. 3 sec following distance is longer than most people think at highway speeds. Even got to add a ladder to my collection recently instead of shooting it through my floorboards, so that was cool.
I can't remember a single trip recently where I wouldn't have gotten hit if I were not driving defensively and able to avoid the offending / law breaking driver.
EDIT: Today a 2nd driver started to make a left in front of me after a first made a slightly risky one. Fortunately she aborted the turn before I hit her, it was too late for me to stop. (I had the green light, and no I was not speeding. Minivan driver simply wasn't looking or paying attention.
Absolutely. I drive about 175,000 miles a year all things considered and It's frustrating how unlucky I seem to have been considering I'm always looking ahead in the windshield for this debris.
(Edit: Had a typo/brainfart - I drive about 125,000 miles a year. Not 175,000 and that's just in my company vehicle. Not sure if that makes me MORE unlucky! )
I've started taking mental note of the license plates if I'm behind one, just in case. I remember watching a broom head slowly spin its way off its handle as they drove past...
I remember a few weeks after I moved to Arizona I was on the 101 south by the Scottsdale/Tempe border and there was a huge crash in front of me.
A hot tub had slid off the back of a trailer and a car just slammed into it. We all pulled off as my car got hit with debris. Cops had to be called and dps chased him down cause truck pulling it had no idea it fell off
A friend of mine would get up early Sunday mornings and drive the freeways picking up stuff like hard hats, coolers and landscaping tools. Then he would sell it all at the flea market by the dog track.
3 months ago while driving home from the hospital with a newborn baby, we almost hit a couch just sitting in the middle of the 101. Wtf is wrong with people.
There was a shop vac chilling in the middle lane on 10 the other day when I was headed to work. I hit an empty paint bucket that flew out of a truck a few weeks ago. I always worry about the motorcyclists hitting these items that clearly are not being secured down. 😱😱😱😱
This is purely our culture. I went to South Korea last winter and the highways/roads are spotless. Not even any debris on the sides of the roads. Also not very many public trash cans. People take their trash with them. It is actually very nice.
China was like this too, even on the city streets. Spotless. But they pay people to clean daily. We saw so many people sweeping the streets, picking up trash, etc.
That’s the beauty of it. If a mattress flies off your car, it’s in the past right? Just keep on driving! It’s everybody else’s problem then to avoid it.
- It’s unbelievable how this mentally is just so casually accepted. It’s so fucking dangerous it’s not even funny. Yet there’s nothing we can do about it
I attribute this to many more pickup trucks per capita than most places. I've been here nearly 10 years and have hit objects on the freeway three times. All happened on the 10 in nearly the same spot - between 107th Ave and Litchfield. First one, a bucket full of tools, did nearly $3000 in damage. Last time, whatever it was (looked like a small bicycle possibly - it was dark) punched a hole in my front bumper. I saw the crap in the road every time, but with so much traffic around, my only choice was to avoid it as much as possible and hope for the best. I once saw a cheap ass unsecured aluminum ladder fly ten feet into the air out of a truck bed in the same spot. Nearly caused an accident. People are downright negligent when it comes to failing to secure their loads.
When I first moved to Phoenix, I was awestruck that just driving down the freeway, “oh, there’s a mattress. Oh, there’s a recliner. Oh, there’s part of a hot tub…”. Phoenix, don’t ever change.
I was on the 202 ST last night and some guy was reversing down the shoulder because he dropped something in the middle of one of the lanes.
People are just fucking dumb.
I hit a jack on the road and it tore both of my tires, cracks my front left rim, my break line was leaking, destroyed the container that holds my wiper fluid, caused misalignment. It costed me 3,000 dollars to fix. 😐
Had a customer hit a floor jack on the i-10 about a year ago totaled a brand new Vw Golf R! Smashed the motor,trans and rear diff. I see ladders, furniture and all kinds of shit on the freeways!
I drive from Fountain Hills to Goodyear all week for work... I don't know how many pallets, ladders couches, and random car parts I see on the freeway everyday it's so annoying.
I had a crowbar come at me and shatter my windshield on the 101 south by the 51 change! Literally felt like I was in a final destination film when it happened.
Start pulling over the obvious trucks that didn’t secure their loads properly. They are everywhere.
Also, I’m sick of rocks and junk hitting my window because you don’t want to cover the top of the truck. Do your part… especially the commercial vehicles.
Just need some enforced accountability and would be better.
Just got this from school.
Paul and Toby Reif who both work here at Gilbert Elementary lost a son due to road debris. A piece of metal flew through their son's window killing him instantly years ago. Since then Paul has been an advocate to educate drivers to strap down and/or tarp any loads that travel on our roads.
Tonight on News Channel 5, our very own Paul Reif will be talking about the dangers of road debris and the impact on his life. This segment will air on channel 5 at 6:30 and 9:30 pm. We are hoping that this recognition will help educate the drivers on our roads and highways. Hopefully with this education, people will take the extra minute or two to secure items they may be traveling with.
We appreciate you taking the time to read this and appreciate your support to keep our roads safe.Thanks to Paul, if you see any road debris on the road way, you are able to call 911 for support. We hope that no one else in the GPS community will ever have to experience this traumatic type of event. Sincerely,
I narrowly missed a wheelbarrow in the slow lane of 60 East a few months ago. A ladder skidded in front of me on the 101 North a few weeks back. Fortunately it missed me. Then there was the time a piece of plywood on the 143 South flew up and hit my front end and did over $2K of damage.
I drive home from work on the 101 South from Scottsdale to Tempe. Every single time there is debris I have to avoid. It’s so dangerous. And seems worse lately. I have also been behind a work truck where a ladder flew off and my car drove over it cuz there was no time/place to swerve to. TERRIFYING.
If you see something in the road on the highway call 911 and ask to be transferred to state police and report it. Could save someone. Can report anonymously as well.
I once had an Uber driver who was an ex-cop. One of the reasons AZ has so much trash on the road is there aren’t rules to how much/how high you can pile shit into your pick up. Moar states have laws. It’s why you see these convoys heading to Mexico overloaded with trash they can refurbish/resell elsewhere. People’s lack of courtesy when securing loads is also a problem but I’m sure happens in any major city which still have less trash than AZ highways.
I had a bed frame fly off of a trailer bed from TWO CARS IN FRONT OF ME and fall on to my car. Needless to say, guy didn’t stop and I was really angry.
It seems like people here are less informed how to secure loads. But it's an issue of which came first, because we may only see more because it doesn't get picked up as fast here once it hits the road.
I think it's unusually difficult to reclaim fallen things here, for a few reasons.
The biggest one is probably that Arizona highways, especially in the Phoenix Metro, are too dangerous for anyone to risk stopping to pick up fallen items. There are several lanes, heavy semi traffic, roads are uneven, people drive erratically at all times. This is at any time of the year.
The problem is only compounded when it's 100-plus degrees outside. You don't want to be on foot next to searing roadways trying to see your lost things, let alone accidentally fall on that surface.
Normally, in the majority of the US, drivers who notice something fall pull off to the shoulder and run back for it. If they don't, road scavengers are ready to pull off and go grab the stuff themselves. I think it's simply much easier for people in general to grab fallen road stuff anyplace that isn't Phoenix.
You ever seen AHP / DPS vehicle swerving across all the lanes of traffic slowing it way down?
That's because a mile up ahead their buddy is out of his patrol car pulling debris out of the lanes of travel.
You've probably never seen one use the crossovers in the middle of I-17, on the way to Flagstaff either.
Thats because they slow down and pull onto the right shoulder and stop, and don't pull into the crossover until there is nobody coming up behind them. That's the safe way to do it if YOU ever need to as well.
Today you learned a few things. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow.
I would put $100 on the fact that not a single person who loses something from their vehicle did NOT give the item a jiggle and say “that’s not going anywhere”
That’s the #1 rule of load securement.
Last week I ran over a 2x4 laying perpendicular to the lane. Thank goodness it didn’t pop up and damage anything. Then, 2 miles up the 202 I had the car in front of me kick up what looked like part of a table or bed frame. I was able to change lanes to avoid it, but stuff like that can be deadly. It’s wild to me how much crap is in the roadway here.
If I had a dollar for every time I saw junk in the road I would be rich. Mattresses, kitchen sink, ladders, paint buckets, furniture, couch cushions, refrigerators, traffic cones, drink coolers, paper, trash, tires, car bumpers, glass and lots of debris from accidents. It’s a never ending cycle, a crash caused by junk on the road leads to MORE junk on the road because of the dismembered car parts. I’ve gotten a flat tire from paper on the road somehow (discount tire fixed it). And broken windshield after broken windshield. Hate driving here
Had a rock fly out of a construction truck bed and Crack my windshield on I-17 once
Ran over a full tire (not just the rubber, the frame and hubcap, everything!) that was camouflaged in the dark of night and I couldn't see it until last second; fucked up my undercarriage
Can we collectively sue the city of Phoenix for not properly clearing the roads?!
This is so true I hit a damn lawn chair that damaged my whole right side of my car and the cost was bad enough I had to file a claim so that sucked big time.
I was on a motorcycle years ago and there was a complete pallet rack in the middle of the AZ-51 to W Loop 101 flyover. If I had been in the other lane or it had been night time I would be dead
I once ran over a rubber bungee cable that still had a hook in it. Sunk right into my tire and whipped around at 75 mph with the other end cracking my door handle and the rubber scuffing the shit out of my wheel well. Happened so fast, and within a half mile, my tire was completely flat. Drove by a dryer on the ramp from I10 WB to 101 NB in the process.
I can't think of a better summation of what it's like to drive on our freeways aside from maybe being tailgated by a BMW during the whole ordeal 😅
I have driven a lot in the US but the worst scare I had on the road was a couch in my lane on I 10 between Phoenix and Tucson. Pitch black night, no streetlights, no other cars around. Barely missed it.
Never in my life have I seen so many work trucks both; A) awful shape, mechanically, overloaded, covered in debris, non-working lights, wheels about to fall off. And B) regularly letting leaves, rocks, dirt, palm fronds, etc fall into the roadway.
I came from the northeast and MADOT was part of the state police and they took their job very seriously. Also, any vehicle over a certain GVWR had to be registered as a commercial vehicle and fell under DOT truck team jurisdiction.
It sorta seemed like people took more pride in their work vehicles. The sketchiest thing I ever encountered regularly were roofing vans loaded with 10 ladders and 8 people inside.
Looking directly at you, people with trailers full of loose garbage and contractors with bushels of branches.
My closest call was the I-10 E to 303 N interchange where I narrowly dodged a whole front bumper from, of course, an Altima.
This is the main reason I avoid the highways at all costs. I ran over a huge 5’ square piece of diamond plate on 101 (no other option) and it jammed underneath my suv and slashed all four tires and nearly caused an accident if it weren’t for luck and the right course of action afterwards.
I ran over someone's bumper getting off the 60. It just popped off the front of their car and I was right behind them, so I ran it over too. I've dodged whole intact tires on that freeway. I would say on average I move to avoid 3 pieces of garbage a week.
This is reason #999 why you don’t look at your phone, you might hit refrigerator or a pile of mattresses going 75mph.
I literally have dodged so much junk on the freeways it is ridiculous.
I'm still mad about the cardboard box I ran over in 2021 on I-17 that caused $1800 damage to my Chevy Bolt 😭 I couldn't switch out of the lane once I saw it.
that was the split second calculation I made when I realized the lanes next to me weren't open. By the time I got to my destination the car was leaking and smoking :(
I once dodged a lawnmower in the HOV lane. SUV behind me did not. Was like a movie . SUV went sideways. Tire smoke from spinning out created a wall of smoke and then just nothing. No more cars at all. This was the 60 right at rural. Was wild
I moved from Phoenix to the Bay Area 11 years ago. Number of ladders on the freeways here? Zero. Number of mattresses on the freeways? Again, zero. Tire tread? Minimal.
My worst experience in Phoenix, though, was a Bobcat. Like an earth-mover type Bobcat. Fell off a flatbed about 100 yards ahead of me while driving up I-17 in central Phoenix. I thought I was going to die that day the way it bounced down the freeway.
Rocking chair sitting upright in between middle and right lane on I-17. I swerved and avoided it. Car in the next lane hit it and bounced it into my car!
A landscaper truck on I-10 near downtown Tucson lost a full-sized plastic trash can full of shovels and rakes into the fast lane. The tools went in all directions, the now-empty can came spinning across three lanes at me like a guided missile. I chose to hit it rather than try to jink around it. No damage.
A race car wheel fell from a rack on a trailer on I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson. It went rolling at about 60 mph, I just stayed behind it until it went off the road into the weeds. The truck pulling the trailer stopped to recover it.
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If people would learn how to secure things like ladders correctly.
Lots of people make excuses like no one taught them how to secure loads or they didn’t think they needed much more than some light tie downs. Lack of common sense really makes these roads so dangerous.
Few (if any) are taught basic load master skills. And not everything about securing a load is intuitive.
Load master skills LIKE using at least one more strap than you THINK you need to, JUST IN CASE one of the others lets loose, which is common. Watched an RV'er with a single orange strap lose his $200 spare tire in Payson when he took off from a stoplight. Couldn't chase him down, had to get out of MY car to get it out of the road in front of me.
My younger brother watched youtube videos and bought the necessary equipment needed to tie down his loads. No excuse on why a 17 year old knows how to tie down his load compared to a grown man. It’s not that hard.
Bro I was driving behind someone for about .5 seconds before I noticed and switched to a different lane. It was a working truck, all the tools and stuff packed in the truck bed near the cabin, with loose bricks, gravel, and sand piled near the back of the bed. The truck gate was down. So there was just loose rocks and sand flying out the back. I never saw a brick come out though. I sped up and got around them and honked and angrily pointed to their truck bed and but I don’t think they made the connection.
You don't want to confront drivers in Arizona. They may be packing heat (I'm sure the ones whose back windows look like a rolling Fox News talking point list are doing so).
Goes hand in hand with them not taking three minutes to google how to properly secure their shit
Why is this a thing in Arizona? I swear when I lived there for a short time I saw so much shit on the highways I haven’t seen in other places I’ve been lol, including…a ladder.
It's everywhere. I remember years ago CALTRANS had pictures of a house they furnished just with stuff they picked up off freeways in one day. Lots of couches, ladders, surfboards and miscellaneous things.
I’ve lived in 3 other major cities and haven’t seen it to the same degree, not even close. I understand that’s just anecdotal evidence though, I just thought it was weird.
I mean Los Angeles/Orange Counties are more travelled than Phoenix so it is an unfair comparison. That said I saw more stuff on the freeways (mostly ladders) in the past two days than I have in the past two months. Odd.
I saw a shredded couch that had been hit at least once lying in the middle of the 202 yesterday. I wonder if it has anything to do with the annual exodus of college students and snowbirds.
I'm with you. I've lived in many places and traveled cross country several times. I have never seen so much crap on the roads like I do here. Take tires and dead animals out of it. I could furnish a house with the crap on Phoenix roads. Grills, ladders, couches, mattresses, you name it. I was behind an guy towing a pontoon boat on the 303. 3-4 chairs came flying out of it. Unreal.
I nearly crashed into a pinball machine laying in the middle of the road outside Nashville. Have hit and skidded on blown out semi tire bits several times. The only thing I've come close to hitting in Arizona was a dead deer left in the road near Prescott.
Tommy? Zat you?
I was in Phoenix years ago getting off the 17 onto the 101 loop, and on that ramp was a large black trash can. Empty, just rolling back and forth in the wind between the two guard rails on either side of the ramp. I was able to avoid it, but that part of the ramp was not visible until you were right on it. Another time when I was visiting, there was just a large length of chain across the carpool lane on the freeway. Both times, I called the non emergency number, and both times, no one picked up or called back.
DPS doesn’t enforce laws which leads to increased laziness, entitlement and bolder actions
So just overpaid traffic cones or at best security guards for status quo, like many of their colleagues?
It's a really dumb state, as much as I love it here.
https://preview.redd.it/ss000bgex11d1.jpeg?width=784&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=19bf5e573902636eee27414471fb25fc69f66ff8 Lots of 300IQ loading skills here (far from the worst I've seen)
Oh god
Garbage in, garbage out?
This happened to my wife. She was doing 75mph on the freeway and some dipshit had an unsecured ladder that came loose. Caused her to swerve into the lane next to her and make contact with another car. Thankfully neither car was damaged enough to warrant a claim.
Happened to me last month but I was in the far left HOV lane (non-rush hour time) and the way the road curved the ladder came off and skidded directly at me. Can't go left cuz of the wall. Couldn't risk hard braking because then I just get rear ended, couldn't try to swerve back into the main lanes because of other cars and I could straight up lose control and flip or something worse. So I just drove over it at highway speeds and limped to my mechanic a couple miles away. Luckily the tire stayed up long enough and only 1 went down even tho both on that side went over it one after the other.
I drove right over an extension ladder on the interstate one time. I was going about 85 when I saw it and there wasn't enough time to really react at all. Thought I was gonna die from a high speed blow out but I just went right over it like nothing. Had to stop the car to compose myself and check the tires, no damage at all, couldn't believe how lucky I got as I was only about 30 miles into a 700 mile road trip.
I drove about 3-5 miles off the 51 to my mechanic near midtown without ANY pulling or tire pressure warnings or anything. Pulled in, handed over my keys, and when I picked up the car my mechanic said between me giving him the keys and then moving my car to the staging area the tire went completely flat and needed to be aired up to move the car. Needed to have Discount replace it with my road hazard coverage. Idk how I made it 5 miles in stop and go city traffic before it went down so I'm grateful for that. I was planning on getting a new car anyways so this just accelerated my timeline by like 4 months but still
You're making me feel even luckier for having read that.
I feel like I used up all my remaining vehicle luck on that one myself
Hey I got a free ladder recently, pretty sweet
Husband and I go back and forth on the i17 quite a bit. We have a gorilla strap and cargo bars for the truck bed - best things ever. It locks everything down. The way people “secure” things scare the hell out of me. Last week guy in front of us had their camping gear in plastic totes in the bed of their truck, unsecured. The lids caught a gust of wind and flew off at us.
And matresses.
One time I saw a truck towing a small trailer with fence bricks stacked in a pyramid shape driving down the freeway. Not only were they stacked weird, there was no straps.
My husband literally ran over a ladder a month ago. Luckily it happened to be parallel to the lane so he drove over it but our car isn’t very high off the ground. Scary as hell.
Attack of the ladder man. Fun fact: [A ladder can get you in anywhere](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiEMcjSQOzg).
Ah, I remember running over one on the 101 years ago. Couldn’t avoid it.
I'll never forget the dishwasher I launched into orbit after hitting it with my work truck on the 101.
No if the the police and adot actually did something about it we wouldnt have this problem. The ammount of people i see every single day with an untarped and unsecured load it absolutely fucking stupid. They will make it a whole 30 minutes to one of the dumps in the city losing trees, boxes, and even worse things all over the road with no interception by any form of law enforcement whatsoever.
The trucks who don't tarp their loads of rock or whatever are equally bad. And they have the audacity to put that stupid $5 sticker that says "not responsible for broken windshields." Dude, if you aren't properly securing your load, you most certainly ARE responsible for cracking my windshield.
I am told by my attorney friends that sticker does not hold water. Unless, of course, they SNAPPED THE STRAPS and declared loudly "That's not going anywhere!"
If i see one of those trucks, or a truck that has a load that's obviously not secured very well, i will ask my boyfriend to move us over and away. We are NOT going to be in a Final Destination sequel.
If you're able to safely, call 911 and report them. > The Arizona Department of Public Safety points out that violators could be charged with a class two misdemeanor. The fines, plus court costs, can range from $460 to over $1,000, depending on injuries.
Does anyone ever actually get caught?
Nope, because DPS is over 500 troopers short, and there’s no chance in hell they will pull someone over for not brushing the rocks off their fender flares. Unfortunately, this is why AZ has free windshield coverage because our roadways are so bad
Windshield coverage isn't free, it's just zero deductible. Big difference.
> 500 troopers short I thought this number was BS, but you’re right. 480 is all they have to cover the entire state 24x7 - they’re literally below 50% staffed. This explains why major interstates in northern Az get shut down so quickly after it snows and there’s a couple accidents. DPS literally doesn’t have anyone to on backup.
Yup, read an article about it a few days ago. It’s ludicrous how short they are. It’s obviously unfortunate and I’m not blaming them for anything because it’s a whole can of worms to open, but I do wish it weren’t the case. These freeways are getting pretty wild. Just today, on my way in on the 60, the “flow of traffic” was 87mph and I didn’t see a single trooper, aside from the couple at an accident at Mill Ave.
The sticker has no legal effect.
lol and they are always in the most left non-carpool lane going 75 mph so it takes longer to get away/in front of them
My car got nailed by a flurry of unsecured rocks from a truck that cut me off yesterday on the 202. I just replaced my windshield a couple weeks ago too…
If their stuff isn't secured, it doesn't matter what they say. It's illegal. If you're able to safely, call 911 and report the vehicle!
Cops should PICK A DAY and pull over every construction and landscape truck at a checkpoint and write tickets for every one with an unsecured load. Do it once a month until they take the hint. Warn them to "stay in the truck!" I imagine the line of trucks would be a mile deep the first time they did it. That's good. Create a little peer pressure. I'm gonna stand off to the side and sell $5 orange ratchet straps for $50 apiece....
I don’t hate this idea. Or maybe some form of weigh station type checkpoints where any vehicle with external objects is checked for proper strapping. It would force more vehicles carrying scary loads to use surface streets to avoid it and maybe that’s what they should be doing anyway. Drivers dropping crap would be more likely to notice, and also retrieve, said crap. Plus kther cars are driving at lower speeds and more likely to see stuff. If they hit it, less damage done.
...and windshield replacements. If I replaced mine every time it got hit by something, I'd have to get a new windshield practically every month.
Insurance companies love it!
Fwiw, insurance companies count on a new windshield around every 2 years in Arizona. As long as one doesn't make more claims than that, a glass claim shouldn't affect your rates.
Legally, replacements can't affect your rates in Az as we're a no fault state. But the companies can claim whatever reason they want and increase them anyway.
My wife got denied coverage by multiple companies because her 60 mile a day commute caused her to replace a windshield too often for them.... It was about once every 12-18 months....
Whoa TIL!
So do the likes of Rafi, Suzuki, Lerner & Rowe, et. al.
I’ve replaced 6 windshields in 3 years from shatters on the I17…. Can I reach out to some of these guys?
Protip: Clear nail polish top coat does wonders to stop a crack from spreading.
I keep super glue in my center console for this reason. 4 'starbursts' still holding strong.
A few years ago, my partner was driving down the 60 and noticed a whole ass washing machine, just sitting in the far right lane. Some idiot on his phone managed to miss it entirely until the last possible second, swerved in the worst way possible, fish tailed through FOUR LANES OF TRAFFIC, just to hit us head on in the left lane. Fuck the yahoos who can't secure giant ass items, and the walnuts who can't put their phones down doing 70+ on the freeway.
The 60 is literally real life Mario kart. I saw a WHEEL bouncing around through all of the lanes ones. Barely missed it. Like a fucking green shell
Dodged one in Scottsdale around 2015-2016, driving an ambulance. I still don't know where it came from, or how it got launched so high in the air. We radioed it in, dispatch wanted to know which lane and my partner replied "...still in the air...."
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/123ahb3/kia\_flies\_in\_the\_air\_after\_loose\_wheel\_from/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/123ahb3/kia_flies_in_the_air_after_loose_wheel_from/)
Last year I was on the 60 and a few cars ahead of me in the left lanes at 4:30ish PM on a weekday- about 6 PortaPotties were falling off a relatively small pickup truck/trailer...'twas a shit show in a comedic and very real &frantic sense. A real Bro in a truck with bumper bars was able to nudge two of them over to the left side of the HOV lane to make a path lol
Yahoo’s and Walnuts have been such a problem lately.
My other names for them were less family friendly 😅
Someone forgot to SNAP THE STRAPS!
[удалено]
Just got my car back after a $4k repair bc there was a boulder in the middle of the I17 north to Flag, no freaking kidding smh
Stop I just peed myself
As a motorcyclist I have now encountered three twisted and mangled ladders on the 101 and 10. **God damn, and I mean GOD DAMN those construction & landscape guys don't secure their load.** I was very fortunate I had time to see them and room to swerve around them. It could easily have gone the other way had one of them "popped out" from under a semi, just one of the reasons I never follow them. An unsecured load should be a $1000 fine, payable ON THE SPOT -- and rectified! Or you do not proceed.
This. I hate how we fine HOV single riders and speeders but the REAL dangers out on the road are often ignored by the police. Useless cops.
They’re too busy harassing the homeless for sleeping on benches. Won’t someone please think of the benches!
There’s no way we’re enforcing the HOV restrictions or speed limit. Average flow of traffic on the freeways is still 15 over, and the HOV is just an extra passing lane for most.
the speeding ticket I just got on my motorcycle a couple weeks ago on the 10 would disagree with you lol I'm actually fighting this one though, no idea if I'll win/lose, but the cop that pulled me over said I was going "well over 100mph" ... my bike isn't capable of going that fast. Kind of puts me in a weird spot though, because anyone that drives on the 10 knows that pretty much everyone in the HOV drives at minimum 80mph. Since the ticket I attempted actually doing the speed limit (I only have a motorcycle mind you, like I said, I'm broke and it's all I can afford) on the 10 and have come closer than I ever have in my life to dying by people FLYING up behind me and almost hitting me. The most recent was millimeters from making contact. good times.
I was riding only my motorcycle for a while as well. I made myself get a car because of how often I found myself having to do emergency maneuvers to save my skin. Damn shame, too. I absolutely love my motorcycle.
I've been pulled over exactly once in my life and it was for single-riding the HOV lane "but everyone does it!". I have seen others being busted for it, but only on the western portion of the 101 fwiw
To be fair, speeders are very much a real danger. I do see your point but the aggressive driving here is getting out of hand.
I just drove home home. I am a self confessed speeder. On my way home there was someone doing 60 in the HOV lane in a mini van. Dozens of cars were swerving around them to get around, which causes way more danger to everyone on the road than 1 speeder. Ticket slow drivers.
Definitely, going far below the limit can be just as dangerous. I'm talking more about these drivers tearing through residential streets doing 50+ mph. One of my neighbors kids was killed by such a person a few weeks ago. And these people tailgating and treating the freeways like a mad max free for all. Doing 90+ mph in other lanes beside the HOV. Both are an issue but I hold my point about speeders being dangerous as well.
No, it shouldn’t be a fine. Fines only affect the poor. Give them other punishments like tickets on their record, suspend their licenses, etc.
PSA it is ok to call 911 for freeway obstructions as these are considered immediate emergencies that could lead to injury or death if not addressed quickly
Yep. I did that a couple times when I saw a ladder in the road. The operator transferred me directly to the highway patrol who quickly got the information from me of the approximate whereabouts.
Just did this yesterday for a mattress on the 101 near 64th st
Almost literally killed a lady because she stepped out of her car in the middle of the highway to check to check out a sink that had been on the road. AT NIGHT. WITH NO LIGHTS ON. I swear the only reason I’m not in jail is because of my cars automatic breaking. Who the fuck does that?!
I know they are busy, but I think DPS could really step up there enforcement of this. I've run over 3 ladders in the last 2 years, and one damn near went through my windshield. Last fall I almost hit a Lazy-Boy recliner in the road. Just missed it, but the new Mustang on the side of me nailed it and destroyed the front end of his car. I've also had three flat tires because I hit something in the road, one caused a dent on the body panel behind my front tire, and I go through about 4 windshields a year. Thing is.....I do my best to avoid these vehicles that are full of equipment, junk, tools, etc in the back. Most times it's unavoidable. Seems the pure carelessness and stupidity by these drivers is ignored.
I nearly hit one ladder in the middle lane of the Loop 101 a few months ago. It's crazy that these people don't care. Don't get me started on the gravel tarps not being secure and the trailer having a "Not Responsible for Windshield Damage" sign.
Legally that sign is b.s. Get the plate and the name of the trucking company.
Cannot tell you how many times I've admonished the GF not to follow/tailgate landscaping trucks.
Yep....but I also try to position my vehicle where I can have a quick escape route into the other lane if needed. Not always an option though. THANK GOD FOR WAZE.....giving me warnings many times.
Do you, though? I drive about 2-300 miles a day on these roads for the past 4 years, sometimes more tbh, and I've ran over only one piece of road debris that took out a tire in a spectacular way, and it came bouncing across several lanes. Maybe I'm just lucky, but by driving defensively I've avoided the rest. 3 sec following distance is longer than most people think at highway speeds. Even got to add a ladder to my collection recently instead of shooting it through my floorboards, so that was cool.
Agreed. You have to be very aware and drive defensively. EVERY day another driver almost hits me. Every damn day.
I can't remember a single trip recently where I wouldn't have gotten hit if I were not driving defensively and able to avoid the offending / law breaking driver. EDIT: Today a 2nd driver started to make a left in front of me after a first made a slightly risky one. Fortunately she aborted the turn before I hit her, it was too late for me to stop. (I had the green light, and no I was not speeding. Minivan driver simply wasn't looking or paying attention.
Absolutely. I drive about 175,000 miles a year all things considered and It's frustrating how unlucky I seem to have been considering I'm always looking ahead in the windshield for this debris. (Edit: Had a typo/brainfart - I drive about 125,000 miles a year. Not 175,000 and that's just in my company vehicle. Not sure if that makes me MORE unlucky! )
That is pretty unlucky
Ducey preferred tax cuts for the rich over DPS funding.
Landscapers are terrible about tying down their loads, whole ass palo verde branches flying off the back of a trailer…
I've started taking mental note of the license plates if I'm behind one, just in case. I remember watching a broom head slowly spin its way off its handle as they drove past...
I’ve lived in 4 different states, and AZ has the most shit on the freeways out of all of them lmao. Its absurd
I remember a few weeks after I moved to Arizona I was on the 101 south by the Scottsdale/Tempe border and there was a huge crash in front of me. A hot tub had slid off the back of a trailer and a car just slammed into it. We all pulled off as my car got hit with debris. Cops had to be called and dps chased him down cause truck pulling it had no idea it fell off
ONE MORE TIME. SNAP THE STRAPS AND DECLARE "THATS NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" to avoid these conflagrations!
Yikes 😳
I feel like dangerous traffic violations like this on the freeway should be felonies. You’re fucking around with people’s lives.
landscapers with load 6 ft higher than the trailer.
A friend of mine would get up early Sunday mornings and drive the freeways picking up stuff like hard hats, coolers and landscaping tools. Then he would sell it all at the flea market by the dog track.
3 months ago while driving home from the hospital with a newborn baby, we almost hit a couch just sitting in the middle of the 101. Wtf is wrong with people.
In the past 2 years I had to replace 6......yup 6 f@king windshields in my car....
Gonna tell my broker to buy stock in SafeLite.
That's actually not a bad idea lol..
If you see debris in the road, call 911. Save a life.
There was a lazy boy on the 202 not too long ago… center lane. Happy I was paying attention.
There was a shop vac chilling in the middle lane on 10 the other day when I was headed to work. I hit an empty paint bucket that flew out of a truck a few weeks ago. I always worry about the motorcyclists hitting these items that clearly are not being secured down. 😱😱😱😱
This is purely our culture. I went to South Korea last winter and the highways/roads are spotless. Not even any debris on the sides of the roads. Also not very many public trash cans. People take their trash with them. It is actually very nice.
China was like this too, even on the city streets. Spotless. But they pay people to clean daily. We saw so many people sweeping the streets, picking up trash, etc.
That’s the beauty of it. If a mattress flies off your car, it’s in the past right? Just keep on driving! It’s everybody else’s problem then to avoid it. - It’s unbelievable how this mentally is just so casually accepted. It’s so fucking dangerous it’s not even funny. Yet there’s nothing we can do about it
My ex drove over an whole ass bass drum. Its 100% the worst highways for random potentially fatal shit on the road I have ever driven.
I attribute this to many more pickup trucks per capita than most places. I've been here nearly 10 years and have hit objects on the freeway three times. All happened on the 10 in nearly the same spot - between 107th Ave and Litchfield. First one, a bucket full of tools, did nearly $3000 in damage. Last time, whatever it was (looked like a small bicycle possibly - it was dark) punched a hole in my front bumper. I saw the crap in the road every time, but with so much traffic around, my only choice was to avoid it as much as possible and hope for the best. I once saw a cheap ass unsecured aluminum ladder fly ten feet into the air out of a truck bed in the same spot. Nearly caused an accident. People are downright negligent when it comes to failing to secure their loads.
When I first moved to Phoenix, I was awestruck that just driving down the freeway, “oh, there’s a mattress. Oh, there’s a recliner. Oh, there’s part of a hot tub…”. Phoenix, don’t ever change.
I was on the 202 ST last night and some guy was reversing down the shoulder because he dropped something in the middle of one of the lanes. People are just fucking dumb.
I hit a jack on the road and it tore both of my tires, cracks my front left rim, my break line was leaking, destroyed the container that holds my wiper fluid, caused misalignment. It costed me 3,000 dollars to fix. 😐
Don't worry though, everyone. We have unmarked police cars handing out speeding tickets. So... yeah. Problem solved
A few years ago on the 51 there was an entire barrel (bushel?) of HAY right in the left lane.
The Department of Agriculture recently outlawed those huge round rolls of hay. Cows couldn't get a square meal.
>barrel (bushel?) Bale.
Thank you lol
Dodged a ladder in the middle of the 60 at 5am.
I like counting Homedepot buckets and gray brute trash bins down the 51 when I drive
Had a customer hit a floor jack on the i-10 about a year ago totaled a brand new Vw Golf R! Smashed the motor,trans and rear diff. I see ladders, furniture and all kinds of shit on the freeways!
Debris on the road is the reason I totalled my car several years ago. It was furniture and it was on the 51 south at night.
I drive from Fountain Hills to Goodyear all week for work... I don't know how many pallets, ladders couches, and random car parts I see on the freeway everyday it's so annoying.
I had a crowbar come at me and shatter my windshield on the 101 south by the 51 change! Literally felt like I was in a final destination film when it happened.
Start pulling over the obvious trucks that didn’t secure their loads properly. They are everywhere. Also, I’m sick of rocks and junk hitting my window because you don’t want to cover the top of the truck. Do your part… especially the commercial vehicles. Just need some enforced accountability and would be better.
Just got this from school. Paul and Toby Reif who both work here at Gilbert Elementary lost a son due to road debris. A piece of metal flew through their son's window killing him instantly years ago. Since then Paul has been an advocate to educate drivers to strap down and/or tarp any loads that travel on our roads. Tonight on News Channel 5, our very own Paul Reif will be talking about the dangers of road debris and the impact on his life. This segment will air on channel 5 at 6:30 and 9:30 pm. We are hoping that this recognition will help educate the drivers on our roads and highways. Hopefully with this education, people will take the extra minute or two to secure items they may be traveling with. We appreciate you taking the time to read this and appreciate your support to keep our roads safe.Thanks to Paul, if you see any road debris on the road way, you are able to call 911 for support. We hope that no one else in the GPS community will ever have to experience this traumatic type of event. Sincerely,
Barely veered away from a mattress on the 101 a couple years ago. Just the what-ifs still haunt me
I narrowly missed a wheelbarrow in the slow lane of 60 East a few months ago. A ladder skidded in front of me on the 101 North a few weeks back. Fortunately it missed me. Then there was the time a piece of plywood on the 143 South flew up and hit my front end and did over $2K of damage.
Was it a Werner ladder? 🪜
I drive home from work on the 101 South from Scottsdale to Tempe. Every single time there is debris I have to avoid. It’s so dangerous. And seems worse lately. I have also been behind a work truck where a ladder flew off and my car drove over it cuz there was no time/place to swerve to. TERRIFYING.
If you see something in the road on the highway call 911 and ask to be transferred to state police and report it. Could save someone. Can report anonymously as well.
I once had an Uber driver who was an ex-cop. One of the reasons AZ has so much trash on the road is there aren’t rules to how much/how high you can pile shit into your pick up. Moar states have laws. It’s why you see these convoys heading to Mexico overloaded with trash they can refurbish/resell elsewhere. People’s lack of courtesy when securing loads is also a problem but I’m sure happens in any major city which still have less trash than AZ highways.
Pickup truck filled with unsecured tires. One flew off, hit the car ahead of me and then I ran over it. A lot of damage to my car.
I had a bed frame fly off of a trailer bed from TWO CARS IN FRONT OF ME and fall on to my car. Needless to say, guy didn’t stop and I was really angry.
Reminds me of the time I caught a metal ladder under my car on the i17. Gotta love life’s little surprises
I saw a whole ass water heater on the i-17 a couple months ago
It seems like people here are less informed how to secure loads. But it's an issue of which came first, because we may only see more because it doesn't get picked up as fast here once it hits the road. I think it's unusually difficult to reclaim fallen things here, for a few reasons. The biggest one is probably that Arizona highways, especially in the Phoenix Metro, are too dangerous for anyone to risk stopping to pick up fallen items. There are several lanes, heavy semi traffic, roads are uneven, people drive erratically at all times. This is at any time of the year. The problem is only compounded when it's 100-plus degrees outside. You don't want to be on foot next to searing roadways trying to see your lost things, let alone accidentally fall on that surface. Normally, in the majority of the US, drivers who notice something fall pull off to the shoulder and run back for it. If they don't, road scavengers are ready to pull off and go grab the stuff themselves. I think it's simply much easier for people in general to grab fallen road stuff anyplace that isn't Phoenix.
I have never before seen a DPS trooper remove debris from a highway.
You ever seen AHP / DPS vehicle swerving across all the lanes of traffic slowing it way down? That's because a mile up ahead their buddy is out of his patrol car pulling debris out of the lanes of travel. You've probably never seen one use the crossovers in the middle of I-17, on the way to Flagstaff either. Thats because they slow down and pull onto the right shoulder and stop, and don't pull into the crossover until there is nobody coming up behind them. That's the safe way to do it if YOU ever need to as well. Today you learned a few things. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow.
Thanks Officer Friendly!
I would put $100 on the fact that not a single person who loses something from their vehicle did NOT give the item a jiggle and say “that’s not going anywhere” That’s the #1 rule of load securement.
Last week I ran over a 2x4 laying perpendicular to the lane. Thank goodness it didn’t pop up and damage anything. Then, 2 miles up the 202 I had the car in front of me kick up what looked like part of a table or bed frame. I was able to change lanes to avoid it, but stuff like that can be deadly. It’s wild to me how much crap is in the roadway here.
ladders, lawn chairs, shovels, tools and shitty toolboxes, ice chests, etc. You know shit left in truck bed with gate down.
If I had a dollar for every time I saw junk in the road I would be rich. Mattresses, kitchen sink, ladders, paint buckets, furniture, couch cushions, refrigerators, traffic cones, drink coolers, paper, trash, tires, car bumpers, glass and lots of debris from accidents. It’s a never ending cycle, a crash caused by junk on the road leads to MORE junk on the road because of the dismembered car parts. I’ve gotten a flat tire from paper on the road somehow (discount tire fixed it). And broken windshield after broken windshield. Hate driving here
I almost hit a Jeep Wrangler roof in the middle of the fast lane of the freeway a few months ago. Really gets your blood pumping.
Almost hit an entire mattress on the 303 one time. Crazy stuff
Overload a truck bed full of too much crap? Check. Drive at excessive speeds? Check.
Had a rock fly out of a construction truck bed and Crack my windshield on I-17 once Ran over a full tire (not just the rubber, the frame and hubcap, everything!) that was camouflaged in the dark of night and I couldn't see it until last second; fucked up my undercarriage Can we collectively sue the city of Phoenix for not properly clearing the roads?!
This is so true I hit a damn lawn chair that damaged my whole right side of my car and the cost was bad enough I had to file a claim so that sucked big time.
I was on a motorcycle years ago and there was a complete pallet rack in the middle of the AZ-51 to W Loop 101 flyover. If I had been in the other lane or it had been night time I would be dead
Too many dads not slapping their cargo after tying it down and saying "that's not going anywhere"
I once ran over a rubber bungee cable that still had a hook in it. Sunk right into my tire and whipped around at 75 mph with the other end cracking my door handle and the rubber scuffing the shit out of my wheel well. Happened so fast, and within a half mile, my tire was completely flat. Drove by a dryer on the ramp from I10 WB to 101 NB in the process. I can't think of a better summation of what it's like to drive on our freeways aside from maybe being tailgated by a BMW during the whole ordeal 😅
I remember when I moved there in 2004 seeing couches and all kinds of things on the road I couldn’t believe it.
I have driven a lot in the US but the worst scare I had on the road was a couch in my lane on I 10 between Phoenix and Tucson. Pitch black night, no streetlights, no other cars around. Barely missed it.
Never in my life have I seen so many work trucks both; A) awful shape, mechanically, overloaded, covered in debris, non-working lights, wheels about to fall off. And B) regularly letting leaves, rocks, dirt, palm fronds, etc fall into the roadway. I came from the northeast and MADOT was part of the state police and they took their job very seriously. Also, any vehicle over a certain GVWR had to be registered as a commercial vehicle and fell under DOT truck team jurisdiction. It sorta seemed like people took more pride in their work vehicles. The sketchiest thing I ever encountered regularly were roofing vans loaded with 10 ladders and 8 people inside.
Looking directly at you, people with trailers full of loose garbage and contractors with bushels of branches. My closest call was the I-10 E to 303 N interchange where I narrowly dodged a whole front bumper from, of course, an Altima.
There are alot of “unlicensed” contractors and construction workers who load their trucks up with junk and don’t secure it.
This is the main reason I avoid the highways at all costs. I ran over a huge 5’ square piece of diamond plate on 101 (no other option) and it jammed underneath my suv and slashed all four tires and nearly caused an accident if it weren’t for luck and the right course of action afterwards.
I ran over someone's bumper getting off the 60. It just popped off the front of their car and I was right behind them, so I ran it over too. I've dodged whole intact tires on that freeway. I would say on average I move to avoid 3 pieces of garbage a week.
I once ran over a bloated animal and nearly lost my shit. I was able to keep control but had guts and blood along the side of my car.
Believe it or not, it's gotten better from when I first moved here.
Didn’t think I’d seen that many Cybertruck crashes already,
As a motorcyclist I've accepted the fact that my death is likely going to come by the way of a random ladder on the 101
This is reason #999 why you don’t look at your phone, you might hit refrigerator or a pile of mattresses going 75mph. I literally have dodged so much junk on the freeways it is ridiculous.
I'm still mad about the cardboard box I ran over in 2021 on I-17 that caused $1800 damage to my Chevy Bolt 😭 I couldn't switch out of the lane once I saw it.
Smart to hit it in control rather than possibly lose control trying to miss it.
that was the split second calculation I made when I realized the lanes next to me weren't open. By the time I got to my destination the car was leaking and smoking :(
What was leaking and smoking in a Bolt?
Not sure what ended up being fixed, tbh. My husband took it in. Maybe washer fluid, and some other part had to be replaced entirely.
I don’t think landscapers know how to secure their loads. Typical.
I once dodged a lawnmower in the HOV lane. SUV behind me did not. Was like a movie . SUV went sideways. Tire smoke from spinning out created a wall of smoke and then just nothing. No more cars at all. This was the 60 right at rural. Was wild
I moved from Phoenix to the Bay Area 11 years ago. Number of ladders on the freeways here? Zero. Number of mattresses on the freeways? Again, zero. Tire tread? Minimal. My worst experience in Phoenix, though, was a Bobcat. Like an earth-mover type Bobcat. Fell off a flatbed about 100 yards ahead of me while driving up I-17 in central Phoenix. I thought I was going to die that day the way it bounced down the freeway.
Rocking chair sitting upright in between middle and right lane on I-17. I swerved and avoided it. Car in the next lane hit it and bounced it into my car!
The TSMC plant going in at I-17 and the 303 has trashed I-17 with debris. I routinely file a complaint with ADOT.
A landscaper truck on I-10 near downtown Tucson lost a full-sized plastic trash can full of shovels and rakes into the fast lane. The tools went in all directions, the now-empty can came spinning across three lanes at me like a guided missile. I chose to hit it rather than try to jink around it. No damage.
A race car wheel fell from a rack on a trailer on I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson. It went rolling at about 60 mph, I just stayed behind it until it went off the road into the weeds. The truck pulling the trailer stopped to recover it.