Freak road event: Stick speared my bumper

[buttershrimp]

In California there are only 2 things that are legally allowed to fall off a vehicle... water and chicken feathers.

Thank god. I love myself some chicken.

 

[buttershrimp]

Whoa. Sorry to see that damage @artsci. Fortunately your forehead was spared.

What @Saghost says about hitting the road first - that is actually the question Geico asked me when I relayed my story about a construction worker throwing guardrail bolts onto the highway. My bumper caught one, but not until after it hit the road first. How the insurance company responds will depend on whether the object hit the road first, or of it hit you first. It's better if it hits you on the fly, otherwise it's basically more your fault for hitting the object.

Hopefully your local Tesla-authorized body shop gives you a better quote than the $4K quote I was given by mine. Better yet, maybe your service center will make the repair free of charge. It's worth asking. Good luck.

One last thing. Don't follow trucks - especially 18-wheelers. Their tires fall apart all the time.

I bet @TaoJones and @David99 and @Bighorn has seen some gnarly stuff out there. These tips are good... I tend to follow @artsci's method... get around them as fast as possible.

 

[K-MTG]

Is there anything in the back that could have been damaged?

 

[MP3Mike]

The piece had speared my bumper with a force large enough to make this hole:

Wow, you just aren't having very good luck... Apparently putting a refresh front bumper on your Tesla makes it a magnet for accidents.

 

[victusw]

Judging by the picture and the location of the puncture, wonder if this could be covered up by the license plate holder (i.e. if you don't mind going the less expensive route by not replacing the bumper + paint job)

 

[iwannam3]

Can anyone else share the worst thing they've seen fly off the back of a truck or car?

On a 4 lane divided bridge I was in lane 2 and a semi stopped in front of me, I swerved into lane 3 as the semi did too since there was a $%^& washing machine in lane 2! I went in lane 4 to avoid the semi and there was a second washing machine in lane 4 so I had to swerve back into lane 3 in front of the semi! As I was calling 911 I saw an overloaded pickup with scrap metal and several straps dragging behind slowly driving down the left emergency lane. Funny thing, he was probably headed to the same scrap yard I was, I had a 300 pound plow SECURELY tied down in my truck that did not move even with my swerving back and forth.

 

[whitex]

Wow, that got dark fast. I was hoping for crazy kitchen furniture but a flying serta followed by a lady, well, I guess I asked for it. Anyone else got any doozies? So far, the stick in the face of the ultimate soundproofed Tesla is the worst I've seen.... Seems like it would have broken the windshield but not penetrated yes?

Less dark, but nonetheless annoying - some teenagers driving fast in the HOV lane threw a bunch of change at my wife's Tesla last year. They figured with just one person you can't enter the HOV lane and can't follow them. Dashcam caught the incident, including the license plate of the offending car. We reported it to the police, and that was the last we heard of it.

 

[Drewflux]

Dang you are having a bad run of luck @artsci . First rear ended now this. Glad it wasn't any worse. although the question is what mod will come with this repair?
Its too bad the dash cam video isnt available

 

[Dborn]

Obviously your radiator survived, but I am not sure how! A license plate will cover that area. It also just missed your radar antenna.

 

[trm2]

Many, many years ago, I was following a pickup on the freeway when an unsecured ladder gently lifted up and started flying right toward my windshield. I was able to change lanes to narrowly miss it.

My brother-in-law was on his way to Cooperstown when a log cut loose from the truck in front of him. It demolished the windshield on the fly! Thankfully he was ok.

 

[Reddy Kilowatt]

Any damage to your Battery cooler? It in about the same spot behind the bumper.

I think they will have to replace the bumper. But I love the license plate idea.

 

[Saghost]

A decade and a half ago, I saw a flatbed semi lock up his brakes two lanes to my right and probably 300 yards ahead. A second later, the tie down bands popped, and the twenty 8 foot square half inch thick steel plates he'd had secured on the bed went flying horizontally across all three lanes.

There was no one between him and me, and I was able to get slowed down and pick my way across after they'd stopped moving, but I'm pretty sure those plates would have decapitated anyone that was a few seconds ahead of where I was.

 

[Reddy Kilowatt]

A decade and a half ago, I saw a flatbed semi lock up his brakes two lanes to my right and probably 300 yards ahead. A second later, the tie down bands popped, and the twenty 8 foot square half inch thick steel plates he'd had secured on the bed went flying horizontally across all three lanes.

There was no one between him and me, and I was able to get slowed down and pick my way across after they'd stopped moving, but I'm pretty sure those plates would have decapitated anyone that was a few seconds ahead of where I was.

The drivers don't fare to well in those trucks in the old days. the plates used to go right through the cab slicing everything into pieces. That is why they have the big steel plates at the cab side of the trailer now.

 

[Reddy Kilowatt]

I didn't get any door dings or anything on my Volt for the longest time. Then one day while charging overnight I come back and my hood is smashed. No note nothing, fortunately my Neighbors had a high end video camera filmed these AC mechanic's working on the unit next to me and there 40' extension ladder blew over in the wind and landed on my car, trapped them on the roof. They called for help and tried to sneak away. My Neighbor absolutely denied it ready to fight. Guess who looked stupid when we showed them the video

 

[mongo]

Four way lug wrench fell off the back of a tow truck in front of me in Chicago. Fortunately, it stayed parallel with the ground as I drove over it at 60MPH (it was still sliding at the time).

 

[Sawyer8888]

I'm using my wife's old cell phone as a dash cam. The free AutoBoy app does the job.

 

[arcus]

I'm glad it ended up in your front bumper and not 2-3 feet higher!

 

[MacGreiner]

Honestly, Some folks should not be allowed to reproduce.

 

[GatorGuy]

Some people should not be allowed to drive. It is far harder and more expensive to get a drivers license in Europe. As I get older, the more sense that makes to me.

 

[jelloslug]

Can anyone else share the worst thing they've seen fly off the back of a truck or car?

I have see the following items fall off of vehicles while driving on an expressway: a mattress which got stuck under the car behind it when it ran over it, a folding ladder that hit the ground, popped open, stood up on it's feet, and then got obliterated by a semi, a tail gate from a full sized truck that launched a minivan on to two wheels, the rear wheel from a mid '70s Chevy Nova, a full gas can off of the back of a lawn service truck, and a giant, metal workbench that I almost hit in the fast lane of I-85 in Atlanta.