What's the worst road debris you've nearly hit?

[Lowe]

Following on from the motorway middle lane thread, what's the most outrageous thing you've nearly or (sadly) hit?

For me it's a....



...Green Wheelie bin on the A5 which I nearly smacked into at *ahem* 70mph. It's a large dual carridgeway and I was in the outside lane in a line of traffic moving at speed. I saw the car in front brake hard, so I was able to get the brakes on nice and smoothly and see the problem ahead.

Unfortunately the person behind (tailgating) wasn't so lucky and he locked everything up. With cars to my left, a large wheelie bin in front of me rapidly getting closer and some nutter with all 4 wheels locked up behind me, I thought I was going to come a cropper one way or another.

My guardian angel must have been working overtime, because the person to my left graciously dived for the hard shoulder giving me enough room to straddle both lanes and dodge the bin. I don't know what happened to the chap behind me, he probably piled into the bin in a cloud of tyresmoke.

A few hundred yards up the hardshoulder I noticed a bin truck with a *lot* of very sheepish looking bin men hanging around!

[DR]

A Clio in front of me who stopped due to a ford focus flipping on the other side of the road showering everything in debris - she slammed the brakes on - we must have been doing around 70 or 80 - her car looked like a shotgun had shot it - tyres blown out etc

The only thing which got damaged on my car was the sidestep...!

[Howard]

Large bit of moulded plastic that looked like half a Lorry bumper. I managed to move out and go around it, and I saw everyone else doing the same. Haven't had many hairy moments on the motorway thankfully *touches wood*

[99Flake]

Going down a country lane at night I found a railway sleeper across the road, managed to get round it without any drama.

Never had to avoid objects on the motorway, only thing in a similar vein was overtaking a lorry on a dual carraigeway. Lorry obviously didn't see me/look in mirrors as he started to move over when I was halfway round, squeazing me between his trailer and the crash barrier. Lots of hard breaking and tyre smoke later I popped out to see his trailer swing inches past my bonnet. Was very shaken and flat spotted both front tyres.

[vrykyl]

about half past midnight one night, having just been to asda of all places, I encountered an industrial size concrete block in the middle of the sliproad I wanted onto the a500...in the blind dip.... and maybe 20 meters down the road a group of lads with camera phones watching it...
Managed to avoid it doing about 45mph (thank god the slip road has 2 lanes) and the mrs phoned the police.... bunch of idiots had put it there on purpose...
If id hit it doing 50mph, which i would have been by that stretch, id have written off the car and -
http://www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/nc...ate=1997-08-01

[Zak33]

harcore....that fell out of some pikey's lorry, when he tipped it at night down a lane near Beaconsfield to save paying for disposal.

6 am on way to work for an early new reg. handover... as I shot round the corner that I did everymorning, lift off as I turn in, covering the brake for a little extra steering if needed..I swear it was like a 3 foot wall of bricks and concrete...mid apex....on the other side!
Lucky boy....only a few bricks on my side. I had to ring the police, and block the road and got to work very late.

[[GSV]Trig]

about half past midnight one night, having just been to asda of all places, I encountered an industrial size concrete block in the middle of the sliproad I wanted onto the a500...in the blind dip.... and maybe 20 meters down the road a group of lads with camera phones watching it...
Managed to avoid it doing about 45mph (thank god the slip road has 2 lanes) and the mrs phoned the police.... bunch of idiots had put it there on purpose...

Hope the coppers caught them, imho thats attempted murder right there..
Me, I'd of called the boys and pulled up round the corner out of sight and gone and jumped the bastards...


I've hit a fence post before on the A6 in Birstall, had a blow out but that was it.

I've also failed to miss a roundabout.

[mycarsavw]

4 round bales of hay in a country lane on an early summer morning. Some "idiots" had rolled them out the field and into the road - they were big, very big - thankfully I wasn't going too fast otherwise I'd have obliterated my Bug

A badger - that one was fun. Motorway speeds, empty dual carriageway, Mr Badger decides to cross about 300 yards in front of me. I never really appreciated just how big a badger is until then. (If we move to hitting things, my sister, on the same road, lamped a badger at motorway speeds. It tore off the bumper, destroyed the rad and knocked the exhaust of its hangers and it still got up and walked off.)

I quite often miss rabbit, pheasant and pigeon conventions on my daily commute. Driving from my house to work is like the scene in Snow White where all God's creatures come pouring out the woods to see.

[Koolpc]

Traffic Warden!! lol

[Grey M@a]

Worst I've had was a drunk guy who decided to fall asleep on the road after the crest to a bridge, luckily I was just relaxed and driving about so clocked him straight away, dragged him off to the side of the road and called an ambulance as he looked canny out of it.

[g8ina]

I had a 12 ft diameter drain pipe fall of a wagon in front of me and bounce over the top of my car, smashing behind me !!

The gods must love me.

[tiggerai]

I haven't had any run ins with things that I can remember...

However my dad hit a very large piece of living deer shaped debris 3 days after picking up his brand new Grand Voyager. Obliterated the front bumper, hood and radiator. Couldn't drive it for 6 weeks as it was so new some of the spares hadn't been produced yet.

If it had been a week earlier however (commuting in my micra) he probably would have been going home with the ambulance man, not the AA man.

[dave87]

Block of timber, in the middle of the a47 in Norfolk, low profile tyres & stiff suspension made it seem like cresting a mountain. If I'd been on the bike, probably would have had me off. Luckily no damage to the car

[kalniel]

Fallen trees can be a bit of a problem on Derbyshire lanes after storms... Thankfully the Nova's brakes decided not to fade on me for once

[99Flake]

Obliterated the front bumper, hood and radiator...

You American now??

[tiggerai]

You American now??

CHRYSLER GRAND VOYAGER = American.

That's my excuse anyway, the british name for it escapes me.