Road debris creating instant hazards
It was dark and rainy. Streams of traffic were funneling into two lanes, rushing toward the narrow tube of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel.
Suddenly, there it was: a recliner, a dad-sized living room staple in the headlights, smack in the middle of the approach bridge.
No chance to stop. No time to check side mirrors. Panicked drivers swerved every which way, blindly, this reporter included.
Cargo bouncing from vehicles adds pulse-pounding hazards to Hampton Roads traffic, as if navigating a drive isn’t already dangerous enough.
Appliances. Mattresses. Treadmills.
“VDOT crews see a tremendous amount of debris falling off vehicles every day,” said Kelly Alvord, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Last year, VDOT responded to nearly 1,000 incidents involving
large debris blocking travel in the region.
Nationally, vehicle-related debris were a factor in more than
200,000 crashes from 2011 to 2014, according to AAA’s Foundation for Traffic Safety — an average of 50,658 per year. The last time AAA studied the problem, in 2001, the annual number was 25,000.
In the association’s updated survey: Roughly 39,000 injuries and 500 deaths were linked to road debris over the four-year span examined. Nearly 37% of the fatalities resulted from drivers swerving to avoid it.
What to do?
For starters: get better at securing cargo. It’s surprising how quickly a piece of plywood roped to a roof rack or a table in the back of a pickup can turn into a sail. Or how bumps in the road can launch even heavy objects out of a truck bed.
On VDOT’s list of items that local traffic regularly has to dodge: all kinds of furniture — from couches to dining room sets — ladders, household appliances, lumber, wooden pallets, hay bales, Christmas trees, pruned branches, even surf boards.
Tiedowns aren’t always enough. VDOT suggests covering the entire load with a sturdy tarp or netting and traveling with a passenger who can watch for signs of problems. Drivers can be ticketed for failure to properly secure cargo.
Some debris is inevitable, with vehicles shedding tire fragments, bolts, bits of plastic or glass. VDOT uses a contractor to sweep shoulders for smaller objects that can be picked up by tires and turned into projectiles. Vacuuming takes place during the day where shoulders are wide enough, or at night in tighter spots using lane closures.
Alvord said the agency scouts regularly for bigger items. Safety Service Patrols or wreckers take a run through the bridge-tunnels every four hours. Staff monitoring live-feed traffic cameras scan for obvious debris, or an eruption of brake lights and veering vehicles that can indicate an unexpected obstacle.
A crew is then dispatched to halt traffic and either pick up the item or drag it aside for later collection.
All roads and interstates maintained by VDOT’s Hampton Roads district — 10,000 lane-miles of pavement — get covered at least once a week, Alvord, the spokeswoman, said.
But hazards can pop up fast, especially on highspeed roadways. Debris that needs immediate attention — such as that recliner — should be reported pronto to VDOT’s 24/7 customer service center. Post-recliner,
this reporter added the number to her contacts list: 800-367-7623.
Travelers can also dial #77 to reach state police traffic patrol units, or even 911.
Don’t attempt to remove the debris, even if it’s yours, especially on interstates. That’s dangerous, even for the professionals.
On March 12, a Newport News woman was charged with reckless driving after her SUV slammed into a VDOT truck. It was stopped with emergency lights flashing so a worker could pluck a tire tread from I-64 on the Peninsula.
Motorists who know or suspect they’ve lost something along their route can check with VDOT — use the 800 number — to see if it has been found. Personnel retrieved someone’s cellphone last year, still pinging its location on the side of the interstate.
But “the vast majority of items are critically damaged and destroyed to the point where they are unable to be saved and are disposed of by crews after pickup,” Alvord said.
She did a quick review of last year’s incident notes. Among the more-sizable, oddball objects reported in local roadways:
Metal sink with pipes attached
Pink children’s playhouse Large potted tree
Exercise bike
RV doors
Industrial-sized shop vac still in original box
And oh yes, a cow. One got loose from of a livestock trailer in Chesapeake last spring, stopping afternoon traffic in both directions as it ran a mile or so on I-64.
Folks from VDOT, state and city police and the fire marshal’s office finally caught the black-and-white cow using a tow strap.
The best defense, says AAA: Drivers should avoid tailgating and continually scan ahead for debris.
If there’s no chance to safely change lanes, reduce your speed in as controlled a manner as possible before making contact.