Thank God I was in the cage last night!

1682 Views 18 Replies 16 Participants Last post by distantThunder, Sep 19, 2014

dodah

Discussion Starter · Sep 17, 2014 (Edited)

FIRST, PLEASE PLEASE be extraordinarily cautious when traveling through construction zones (especially in Cincinnati on I75!) As you read this, consider that I was absolutely sober, driving 45 in a construction zone in the slow lane at about 11:30pm.

Not sure I've ever heard of this happening, but I can honestly say I'm thrilled that I was NOT on my bike last night. I (along with what I later found out was 8 other motorists) encountered a section of freeway that during construction had experienced a major collapse of some sort.

All I can tell you is that I remember noticing something unusual about the freeway at the same moment I experienced what sounded like a shotgun blast right beside my head and a violent impact of my car. I thought I'd been slammed into by another vehicle.

Bottom line is that the impact of the "pothole" was enough to completely cut the wheel of my car in two! The WHEEL, not the tire...the tire was fine!!! The wheel was actually kept intact by the tire, otherwise I'm sure I'd have lost control and things would have gotten pretty ugly pretty fast. The driver side airbag deployed as the right front tire collapsed, the car coasted to a stop with the fuel cutoff switch activated by the impact and as quickly as I could, I exited the car and leapt to the top of the 5ft concrete barrier with only about 2-3 feet of "shoulder". Even with the blinkers on, no fewer than 50 cars and trucks swerved and successfully missed my car.

I can't imagine what would have happened to me or anyone on a bike.

Here's a photo of the back-side of the alloy wheel. Alloy BMW-3 wheel

See less See more

1 - 19 of 19 Posts

2010hdultra

· #2 · Sep 17, 2014

Wow that sucks, id be contacting my insurance and see how to make the state pay for damages....

Old Coot

· #3 · Sep 17, 2014

Man, I'm glad you're safe. Yea, that would have been a doosy on a bike.

baggd13

· #4 · Sep 17, 2014

Glad your safe. Scary stuff

dynaglydr

· #5 · Sep 17, 2014

Too bad you didn't get any pics to show. Glad all is well.

kd5cqt

· #6 · Sep 17, 2014

Very fortunate that you were not hurt if not by the impact of the pothole then by one of the other motorists. Know about that I-75 construction In Cincy, and glad I was able to avoid it a few weeks ago when I went through.

XL1200R

· #7 · Sep 17, 2014

So glad to hear you weren't hurt.

Before you drive that car again make sure you or a mechanic checks the straightness of the uniframe/ shocks, bushings, steering components, driveline components, a arms... Basically anything in the front of the car. An impact like that most likely damaged other stuff that could very well cause another accident in the future.

kcdcltd

· #8 · Sep 17, 2014

I would not use that tire again as well. Just because it looks ok doesn't mean I would trust it! It did its job so retire it!

XL1200R

· #9 · Sep 17, 2014

kcdcltd said:
I would not use that tire again as well. Just because it looks ok doesn't mean I would trust it! It did its job so retire it!

For sure.

Louisville Joe

· #10 · Sep 17, 2014

I still get sweaty palms thinking about going through Cincy over a year ago to the first Collision in Fostoria. On a Friday morning around 11:30 I wasn't expecting the amount of traffic and construction that I encountered and that was in good weather and no super sized potholes. Will do my best to detour around Cincy in the future. Glad you are OK and sorry you live in that area hope they eventually get through with all the construction.

kd5cqt

· #11 · Sep 17, 2014

I took the bypass to the west and avoided that nightmare.

tlg1100

· #12 · Sep 18, 2014

Sounds like it was a rough ride/evening glad it wasn't any worse!

This will serve as a reminder for me, over the years I've seen many potholes and pavement that was under repair with no sign telling anyone so !
Just a few nights ago road crew had done some resurfacing on a road and one section they left overnight they had scraped off two to three inches for about forty feet, dropping off in it wasn't bad and I could see the bump coming out of it but watched others hit it hard in little cars and they would swerve from the impact...I was in 4wd truck and I don't think my tires would have liked hitting that at 40 MPH.

And several years ago..main hwy around here had smooth potholes for lack of a better word...hitting them at 70 mph..hold the eff on!!

Phdharley50

· #13 · Sep 18, 2014

Wow! Someone was watching out for you! Does make you stop and think.

Sent from Motorcycle.com Free App

Hotsparks

· #14 · Sep 18, 2014

Really sucks. sounds like a law suit.

Labradaddy

· #15 · Sep 18, 2014

A few years back, some hwy in SW Arkansas had a section lift/tilt creating a 1'-2' (yes,feet) launching ramp overnight. A bunch of folks got hurt before they got it blocked off.

Glad you made it out ok.

jsvt184

· #16 · Sep 18, 2014

A few years back the wife was driving to work when a similar thing happened. A pothole/sinkhole opened up on the right wheel path and she hit it along with the next 4 cars behind her. The state did pay for 2 new wheels, tires and an alignment. Luckily that was all the damage. I have a trooper friend that said he went through there not 30 minutes prior and the hole was not there.

Miles Tequillya

· #17 · Sep 18, 2014

Glad your OK!!! That's crazy!!!

Sent from Motorcycle.com App

dodah

Discussion Starter · #18 · Sep 18, 2014

Update on the damage and exactly what I hit.

jsvt184 said:
A few years back the wife was driving to work when a similar thing happened. A pothole/sinkhole opened up on the right wheel path and she hit it along with the next 4 cars behind her. The state did pay for 2 new wheels, tires and an alignment. Luckily that was all the damage. I have a trooper friend that said he went through there not 30 minutes prior and the hole was not there.

AHA! The adjuster for the construction company actually called! And, aside from being extraordinarily pleasant, basically agreed that liability would either lie with them or ODOT (Ohio Dept of Transportation). I finally found out what I hit too...apparently it was what she called a "rather significant" sinkhole which was the result of a collapsed drainage pipe under the freeway! From what I now know, I was the first of 8 to hit it before they finally closed down I75 for "emergency repairs"!

distantThunder

· #19 · Sep 19, 2014

good story ... very good reminder.

JUST ONE MORE reason why I usually dont ride at night.
And never on streets with poor visibility.
It just aint worth it.

dT

1 - 19 of 19 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.