I can’t decide if I’ve been incredibly unlucky or incredibly careless. Leaving a friend’s home in Dunstable yesterday evening, in the dark, I turned right at the main traffic lights in the centre of town and headed south on the A5. As I turned, I hit something with the front offside tyre – hard .
I stopped a little way further on, checked the wheel, tyre and bodywork and could find no damage, so I walked back to the junction to see what I had done. Despite careful inspection, I could see nothing lying in the road nor at the side, where conceivably an object could have been projected after I had hit it. The road, though pretty uneven, was not drastically so.
My conclusion was I had hit the kerb of the central reservation, though my recollection was of taking a fairly wide line round it. The kerb is high, and, apart from the traffic light column which is positioned there, there is one of those reflective “keep left” signs.
In the light of day I can see a bulge in the tyre wall. Looks as if I’ve made an expensive mistake.
I still don’t know why I didn’t see the kerb, which worries me, as it suggests I was pretty close to the traffic light column also. I have just a lingering thought that it might have been something else that I hit. Anyway, I have booked myself in for an appointment at Boots Opticians next week.
Last edited by: VxFan on Thu 12 Sep 13 at 01:23
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>> Anyway, I have
>> booked myself in for an appointment at Boots Opticians next week.
you found the bulge in your tyre didn't you? 's good enough.
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should of gone to specsavers
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If you hit the kerb hard enough to break the cords in your tyre then I'd suggest you get the tracking checked too.
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Surely if you're turning right and hit something with the front OS, then the rear OS must also hit the same thing.
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>> Surely if you're turning right and hit something with the front OS, then the rear
>> OS must also hit the same thing.
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No.
The rear wheels follow a tighter arc than the fronts.
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>> >> Surely if you're turning right and hit something with the front OS, then the
>> rear
>> >> OS must also hit the same thing.
>> >>
>>
>> No.
>> The rear wheels follow a tighter arc than the fronts.
Yes,
if you are turning right and you clip the CR with your front O/S wheel, the rear O/S wheel will collect more of the CR and run right over it.
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Has someone got their OS and NS confused?
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Maybe the vehicle bounced and veered off, on impact?
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Is it this place?
goo.gl/maps/IAMFo
If yes, then I also find this junction design problematic. When turning right, compared to other junctions, the yellow/blue arrow signs seem too far way out so wheels can be kerbed while turning.
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This is the spot, from the description. Maybe it has changed since the picture.
FP would be the red car...the island is by the white van. You wouldn't hit the light pole unless you ran over it bodily, but the rear would definitely hit it if the front did.
goo.gl/maps/WOHA8
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Unless the glancing impact at the front caused the whole car to jump or slip sideways. It sounds like it didn't run over the kerb but ran into it. An improvised model with my mouse as the car and the corner of my keyboard as the island suggests this could happen.
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I did this a few times working on the Docks.Big kerbs on some of the footpaths. I hit one same as you.Big bulge on the tyre,new tyre fitted.Sometimes it can trow the tracking out.
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Manatee - yes, pretty much as you say.
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Had arranged to drive north to Newcastle on Friday. Got the tyre changed en route at a place I know well and trust - £99 in total. (£79 Michelin energy saver + £20 tracking, which was out, though not by much.)
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Still puzzled about what happened. A glancing blow would have left a mark (at least) on the alloy rim, as the tyre would have had to deflect only slightly to allow this to happen. Driving over the kerb would also have damaged it, surely - depending on the speed (probably less than 15 mph).
My recollection is the car's offside being lifted by the impact.
The guys at the tyre place did say they'd had someone else in earlier with a wrecked tyre - he reckoned he'd driven over a fencepost lying in the road.
Last edited by: FocalPoint on Sun 18 Aug 13 at 23:00
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My father drove over a garden fork once that was lying in the road, one of the prongs punched a hole in the car floor.
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A whole new meaning to "fork in the road"!
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One tyre - wrecked - Zero
