Plastic peril

[slofox]

Returning from d'Auckland this morning after a second visit to my "contact" in K Road...hurhursnertsnigger....via Southern Motorway. Traffic is heavy and everyone's diving from lane to lane and generally raising hell - as they do...I'm minding my own bizzo and trying to keep out of the way of the savage cages, when of a sudden, from beneath the car directly in front of me, there flies a largish sheet of black plastic. Borne aloft by the wind, it makes a sudden dive at my head...creating in my fertile imagination, images of it wrapping around the helmet causing total loss of vision and the consequent pile-up of four thousand vehicles as I zoom across every lane trying to get it off!
Luckily, a deft (read panic-stricken) swerve and duck of the noodle caused the evil plastic monster to miss its target...

But it got me thinking. Bout how much damage a sheet like that could do if one became entangled in it. It very nearly did end up on my head. But it could equally as well have wound itself into the wheels or chain or round the front end...

Maybe we better put an ACC levy on all plastic sheets...

[Juzz976]

good save, had same thing happen last week but from mount to papamoa so I would have just gone into a fence.

Scares the crap outta ya tho, have to keep distance from trucks coz its hard seeing whats infront of them and then something like a bit of wood just appears underneath and your like.... well you know.

[popa griffin]

and your like.... well you know.

Like this?

[musicman]

One not only needs to watch out for things floating around, they need to watch out for things dropping off other vehicles too!
I was once on the motorway following a vehicle towing a caged trailer chock full with computer parts (i.e. keyboards and the like) and a couple of plastic panels, either the wrist rest of the keyboard or panels off a printer, fell off. Luckily I had just changed lanes before it happened.
On the same day I was on the motorway following a large flatbed truck carrying some sort of large machinery resting on long thin square beams, and a couple of the beams at the back fell off. Luckily I was a fair way back and had plenty of time to change lanes, but damn, what's with all these things falling off vehicles!

[steve_t]

Moral of the story - when going for "contact" always make sure you've got adequate protection and stay alert of the risks

[taff1954]

One not only needs to watch out for things floating around, they need to watch out for things dropping off other vehicles too!

For dropping off, read 'thrown out of' as well - a few years ago a car passed as I slowed into a turning lane and I copped a maccas wrapper across the top of my helmet. I've also had a cigarette butt bounce off my visor. On that occasion, I knew the driver, caught up with her later, and when I told her what she'd done I got the standard answer - sorry, didn't see you.