Highway Exploded Right In Front Of Me - I Was Nearly The Meat In a Truck Sandwich!
#1
Highway Exploded Right In Front Of Me - I Was Nearly The Meat In a Truck Sandwich!
I finally got my bike back together today. Was sooo stoked I hoppedon it straight away. It was 96 degrees in the shade according to my digital weather station, but I wore my full gear anyway, I always do. I rode down to the fuel servo and put gas in the bike, pulled out of there and got immediately onto the highway.
I opened her up as I entered the highway and was probably a couple miles over the speed limit when I entered (maybe 65 in a 55 zone). I entered into the slow lane and started to look for a spot in the fast lane. The truck in front of me was braking on the highway. I thought to myself "this is an odd place for a truck to be slowing down because this part of Hwy 51 is never busy enough to cause a jam. I checked my mirror and quickly glanced over my shoulder.
When I looked back in front of me, the truck was skidding to a stop and a few other cars and trucks around me were also skidding and driving off into the ditch and I was in trouble. I had to make a split second decision... do I stop and risk being run over... or hit the gas and try to squirt through between these vehicles which where are all moving very unpredictably? I chose the latter and am damn glad I did! When I got through it all I looked back and I saw that an entire lane had exploded and there was a huge pit with bolders sticking up out of the highway. I am not sure what happened behind me, but I got off at the next exit and turned myself around so I could have a look from the other side of the road. There were a few cars and trucks still stopped there and traffic was completely stopped dead at the scene!
I can't say for sure what would have happened had I stopped, but I am pretty thankful that my slightly rusty skills got me out of what could have been a very dangerous situation!
I opened her up as I entered the highway and was probably a couple miles over the speed limit when I entered (maybe 65 in a 55 zone). I entered into the slow lane and started to look for a spot in the fast lane. The truck in front of me was braking on the highway. I thought to myself "this is an odd place for a truck to be slowing down because this part of Hwy 51 is never busy enough to cause a jam. I checked my mirror and quickly glanced over my shoulder.
When I looked back in front of me, the truck was skidding to a stop and a few other cars and trucks around me were also skidding and driving off into the ditch and I was in trouble. I had to make a split second decision... do I stop and risk being run over... or hit the gas and try to squirt through between these vehicles which where are all moving very unpredictably? I chose the latter and am damn glad I did! When I got through it all I looked back and I saw that an entire lane had exploded and there was a huge pit with bolders sticking up out of the highway. I am not sure what happened behind me, but I got off at the next exit and turned myself around so I could have a look from the other side of the road. There were a few cars and trucks still stopped there and traffic was completely stopped dead at the scene!
I can't say for sure what would have happened had I stopped, but I am pretty thankful that my slightly rusty skills got me out of what could have been a very dangerous situation!
#4
#7
I watched the news last night, but didn't hear mention of it. I rode past the spot this morning and they already have a big patch on the road, the hole was even bigger than I though! I will check todays newspaper as well, I am interested to know how many cars ended up piling up... lol
If you are not familiar with road buckling, check this story out. There is a video on the page as well.
What Causes Roadways To Buckle? - Channel 3000 Traffic News Story - WISC Madison
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Optimus_Prime
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08-08-2013 10:11 AM