Well, at least it wasn't a muffler. A co-worker was behind a ratty Cadillac, when it lost its own muffler and tail pipe. It flipped a few times, then went right through the windshield on the passenger side. Cops wouldn't even let him drive it home.
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****ing loose truck tires on the highway...
- Thread starter rogersmj
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what is it with all the blown out tires and lost mufflers on US highways. I don't see that in Germany to that extent. Are US tires more prone to fail?
it's dangerous so I'm happy you're fine and I hope it's not going to be too expensive.
Germany has pretty high standards when it comes to allowing vehicles on the road. The US is extremely lax. Here in California, all I have to do is have a smog test every 2 years.
A friend from Poland is always commenting that even the oldest cars in Poland are better maintained than many of the cars in the US.
The old safety inspection that use to be required, prevented a lot of old cars from being driven on the road. The penny in the tread included. 
The old safety inspection that use to be required, prevented a lot of old cars from being driven on the road. The penny in the tread included.
And then again there are inspectors who, if you give them $40 they let it slide
Got the estimate: $1779. Hood, bumper, front left quarter panel, driver's door, and driver's side mirror all need to be repaired and fully repainted, plus the front left wheel has to be replaced because it was slightly gouged and they're concerned about internal structural damage. Insurance, here I come...this should be filed under "comprehensive", not "collision", the body shop guy said (who has the same provider as me), since it was flying debris and not an actual collision (i.e., I didn't hit another car and I didn't just drive into something sitting in the road), so my deductible for that is half of what my collision deductible is. I filed the claim and am waiting to hear from an adjuster now.
Silver lining: my hood and bumper have some rock chips in them, but they're getting repainted because of this
Silver lining: my hood and bumper have some rock chips in them, but they're getting repainted because of this
I have hit a few treads on the highway, some have caused damage others not. It all depends on how it is in the road and the way you hit it. If states would inspect trucks like they should, closed weigh stations maybe some of this would be avoided.
I just got back from a trip to Wisconsin with family. My uncle was pulling a small trailer ahead of me when one of its wheels blew out. Nothing like a truck tire blowing out, but it was scary seeing it right before my eyes. I ended up driving over some of the tread, but luckily avoided the fender which got trashed and thrown our way as well.
It happened right after a curve in the highway so oncoming traffic really couldn't see it very well which caused an extremely dangerous situation. It wasn't really possible to pull the fender off the road ourselves so we ended up just calling the state police to take care of it. Scary stuff.
Any why are those weigh stations ALWAYS closed. Rarely have I ever seen one open.
It happened right after a curve in the highway so oncoming traffic really couldn't see it very well which caused an extremely dangerous situation. It wasn't really possible to pull the fender off the road ourselves so we ended up just calling the state police to take care of it. Scary stuff.
Any why are those weigh stations ALWAYS closed. Rarely have I ever seen one open.
Got the estimate: $1779. Hood, bumper, front left quarter panel, driver's door, and driver's side mirror all need to be repaired and fully repainted, plus the front left wheel has to be replaced because it was slightly gouged and they're concerned about internal structural damage. Insurance, here I come...this should be filed under "comprehensive", not "collision", the body shop guy said (who has the same provider as me), since it was flying debris and not an actual collision (i.e., I didn't hit another car and I didn't just drive into something sitting in the road), so my deductible for that is half of what my collision deductible is. I filed the claim and am waiting to hear from an adjuster now.
Silver lining: my hood and bumper have some rock chips in them, but they're getting repainted because of this
I would call up what ever the company is that owns the vehicle thats tire hit you. I know a lot of people that have had their cars damaged by trucks and the trucking companies pay out of pocket to fix your cars so their insurance doesn't go up.
I think Comprehensive might work.
Given that the retread was already lying in the road when it was hit by the Greyhound bus, identifying the truck that it came from is nearly impossible.
Generally speaking, your collision insurance would cover the damage if it was you that hit the retread as it was lying in the road. Your comprehensive insurance would cover the damage if it was already airborne when it hit your car. You want to fight for it to be covered under comprehensive, as that generally doesn't result in increased insurance premiums (because it wasn't your fault).
Based on your pictures, you should be able to have it covered under your comprehensive. The damage is up high enough that it's pretty clear that the retread was airborne. If you had hit it lying in the road, the damage would be lower on your bumper and on your undercarriage.