Motorway Debris
Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 10:01 pm
Had a bit of an incident this mornin on the way into work...and altough i was lucky, it still annoyed me.
I was driving into work on the m'way (m53) and was in the outside lane doing about 70ish with a car in front and 3 in the middle lane that we were slowly passing. Next thing the traffic starts to slow and i notice debris...specifically metal bits...in my lane.
There was nothing behind me so i braked to try and scrub off some speed, and managed to get down to 40mph. The first bit was like...a snake of flat valance, and i moved the middle of the car over it and no problems. However, the second piece was a bit...more of a problem. It was what can only be described as a 'chunk' of metal. I again aimed to pass over it, but it caught the bottom of the floorpan, bouncing twice and then catching the fuel line on its way out from under the car...i saw it go sideways in my wing mirror, and it must have missed the wheel by inches!! :! I suppose thats where i'm lucky, as it didnt take any wheels or tyres out and both the sump and fuel tank were still intact.
The fuel line had taken a hit though, and although still in place, had been fractured by the impact and quite a bit of fuel was leaking from it when i arrived at work. After milling about for a bit thinkin of ways to sort it...i had to take it to a friend's auto fitters and weldering place and he has done me a decent repair.
New fuel lines are defo on the list now though...and am now glad to be okay and that the damage was limited. Was fuming at the time though.
Sorry, no pics as i didnt have my camera...
I was driving into work on the m'way (m53) and was in the outside lane doing about 70ish with a car in front and 3 in the middle lane that we were slowly passing. Next thing the traffic starts to slow and i notice debris...specifically metal bits...in my lane.
There was nothing behind me so i braked to try and scrub off some speed, and managed to get down to 40mph. The first bit was like...a snake of flat valance, and i moved the middle of the car over it and no problems. However, the second piece was a bit...more of a problem. It was what can only be described as a 'chunk' of metal. I again aimed to pass over it, but it caught the bottom of the floorpan, bouncing twice and then catching the fuel line on its way out from under the car...i saw it go sideways in my wing mirror, and it must have missed the wheel by inches!! :! I suppose thats where i'm lucky, as it didnt take any wheels or tyres out and both the sump and fuel tank were still intact.
The fuel line had taken a hit though, and although still in place, had been fractured by the impact and quite a bit of fuel was leaking from it when i arrived at work. After milling about for a bit thinkin of ways to sort it...i had to take it to a friend's auto fitters and weldering place and he has done me a decent repair.
New fuel lines are defo on the list now though...and am now glad to be okay and that the damage was limited. Was fuming at the time though.
Sorry, no pics as i didnt have my camera...
