Michigan Truck Drivers: Stop Doing This Before You Kill Someone
We all have our preferences when it comes to the size of what we want to drive. I'm a fan of a small car, but being originally from a southern state, I've driven and ridden shotgun in more than my fair share of trucks and SUVs.
Recently while driving through downtown Grand Rapids, I had the misfortune of following a utility truck that was clearly on the way home after a long hard day. I get it, we're all forgetful.
But this man's forgetfulness applied to the 10 giant orange construction cones on the back side corner of his truck, and as he took the turns around market and wealthy street on 131, his cones all tumbled into lanes of traffic, slamming into cars, and almost causing crashes.
At the time I thought to myself "wow, that sucks, but what a rare thing to happen". But, little did I know within a month, I'd find myself seeing a more dangerous repeat of the same situation.
This time I missed witnessing the truck that spilled them out, but I managed to find a shovel, brake rotor, and spade in the center lane of 131 downtown, just before the curve at 1-96.
As I dodged them feeling like I'd won the day, I didn't happen to see what was in the right lane about 5 car lengths ahead... a rake.
THUMP
I ran it over, and over the next 12 hours a slow leak caused my tire to be entirely flat in my driveway. Awesome. Fantastic. Exactly what I wanted.
I thankfully bought insurance on my tires at Blain's, after running over several nails on a different stretch of 131 earlier this year.
Once I get my car back later this week, I'll have replaced SIX tires on my Honda Accord in 2022. All because of items I'd run over in the roadway here in West Michigan. (Shout out to the crew at the Standale Blain's who probably know me by name by now.)
I know I have mediocre luck, but this is absolutely insane. And it's all because of other drivers not taking the time to secure their cargo.
Here's a reminder: your truck bed is not a trash can / tub / storage unit. If it's not tied down, it's not going to stay put. The rest of us would rather make it to our final destination without living through what feels like a scene out of the movie, Final Destination.