Journal JWSmythe's Journal: Things I learned driving at 2am 2
This is non-tech, but I thought I'd share.
I learned something at 2am the other morning. Driving at night, in an unfamiliar area, isn't always the best idea. I took a guy to his place from a bar, because he was absolutely hammered. File that under "no good deed goes unpunished".
After leaving his place, I was heading home. I bumped over something at about 20mph. It wasn't much of a bump, but I immediately heard my tires go flat. Like, a dramatic wooshing sound from both tires on one side. I stopped and looked. Sure enough, both tires were flat, but I didn't see any damage to the rims. I assumed it just damaged the tires. Maybe it was some broken glass or something in the road. I was 10 miles from home, but it was cold out, and I wasn't going to wait for a tow truck. I could drive the car, but only at 10 miles per hour. Talk about a less than entertaining drive.
I ordered tires the next morning, and they arrived today. I pulled the two flat wheels off, so I could get the new tires mounted. As soon as I did, I saw the bad news. The inside lip of the rim was seriously bent. Like, so much that I could put my finger between the rim and the tire. No wonder they went woosh dramatically.
I went to a few shops to see if I could get the rims fixed or replaced. I already know it's virtually impossible to find OEM replacement wheels for my car. They were exclusive to my car, and only on 3 years, on a very specific submodel, in that style. I was in a little accident in February, and the other drivers insurance company had to cough up $1000/ea for the wheels from the only place they could find them. It took weeks to get them in.
In talking to them about the damage, they said it was clear that I hit a pothole. If it had been a loose object in the road, both wheels would not have been bent exactly the same way. If it had been a curb, the outside lip of the wheel would have been damaged. So, dumb luck on a dark road in the middle of the night.
So, that's my rant. I am carless until after the 1st, since no one locally stocks anything that could fit, and no one is doing shipments over the holiday. {sigh}
Youch! (Score:2)
Good luck, no fun at all being carless.
Think we've all been in the same boat, so I definitely feel this one. Hit an oil and gravel slick on an onramp and ended up smacking a guard rail a while ago... then I fell flat on my tailbone when I got out of the car to inspect the damage. That slippery :-/
Re: (Score:2)
The sad part is, I wasn't being careless. :( I was wide awake, not drunk, and completely lucid. If any of them had been true, I'd at least have an excuse. I drove that section of road today, to try to find the pothole. There were several candidates, but since there was traffic, I didn't stop to walk it to find the spot. My life isn't worth a root cause analysis. :)
I know all about hitting oil slicks, so I can really sympathize. I'm 36 years old, and have had my fair shar