Roadside Jack

[Rockbadchild]

One of my friend told me a story, he was working in a addict for his buddy (a general contractor) and he found a substantial amount of cash stashed, something like 200k so he gave it to the owner and said ho you forgot to take this out of there... the owner reply that he just moved in and it wasn't his but thanks you, the owner kept it of course (i think the previous owner had pass away hence why the house went on the market) but that was it. I would've gave them a couple grand for their honesty at least.

 

[Gem99ultra]

That raises a good ethical question. What about that stepladder laying in the middle of the freeway that's been run over 50 times and is a road hazard - do we need to leave that there because the owner might come back and get it?

Crowbar laying in the road - could tear up a tire or bodywork if hit, could bounce up, go though a windshield and take out a person.

That jack could have slid off the back of a flatbed and bounced off someone's hood. If it's not "in the road" but on the shoulder, might get hit by the mowers and tear up their equipment or get thrown out and hit someone. Maybe it was left by mistake, and the owner will be back for it in 5 minutes. Or, maybe the owner will have completely forgotten about it until the next time he needs it, two years later.

Is it someone else's property? Well technically yes it was, but at some point doesn't it become abandoned?

Excellent points of view! I had the (dis)pleasure of running over an extension ladder, end-to-end, on I-5 while vacationing on my motorcycle. I fortunately simply took a high-fly and managed to keep the bike upright. Otherwise, that would have been my final motorcycle ride.

If I could have found the owner of the ladder, yeah, I would have given it back to him with a lot of other things to remember. It's hard for me to imagine a person not knowing they had lost their load. That smacks of a person that has no regard for the after effects of their actions, or inactions.

 

[WinterDeere]

That smacks of a person that has no regard for the after effects of their actions, or inactions.

Good point. I can't imagine any scenario in which a ladder comes off my truck at highway speed, quietly enough for me to not notice it has happened.

 

[gstrom99]

I think "finders keepers" applies, unless the owner has his/her traceable name on it or it's a wallet, etc... I once "found" a HF floor jack left in front of my house (when I still lived in town). It wouldn't pick up a bicycle, which is probably the reason it was left. Those welded up China ones can't be fixed. It got scrapped.

 

[Runner]

I fortunately simply took a high-fly and managed to keep the bike upright.

What is a high-fly? Like a bunny hop on a bicycle?

 

[Runner]

I was once driving in rush-hour traffic on the freeway. 5 lanes moving at a good clip and I was in the middle, cars all around me, packed in tight, doing about 60. I was following a pickup in my little Yaris when a large couch cushion came out from under the truck.

I couldn't move left or right and no time/space to slow or stop so I took it right down the center. It lodged under the engine for awhile while the car surfed on it, then came loose and worked it's way under the car and out the back like Indiana Jones under the German truck.

I was amazed that it only popped a couple of screws out of the under-engine pan where it connected to the front bumper and no other damage.

Don't know whether the rightful owner claimed it or not...

 

[paulsharvey]

Oh, I have Absolutely lost stuff off the truck; an entire wheel barrow in the 65 mph zone of US1 many years ago (kept going), about a 1000 lbs of Hardi (stopped and re-secured), 5 cases of button cap nails, in the busiest intersection of Palm Coast (i sure wasnt stopping there, better to not have me ID'd), ect.

Now, couple weeks ago, on way home from work, I saw an entire driveshaft in the road, 65 mph, divided, but not limited access; i turn strobes on and pull over to move it; nice new, BMW behind me hits it all full speed; and i decide i dont want to be part of the incident anymore, turn strobes off, and head on home...

I kinda question people who have Never had something fall off; either you spending 30 minutes loading/checking every single time; or you're not hauling anything, ever. I do spend more thought and time securing loads now, but things still happen

 

[gsganzer]

I found a Stihl 261 chainsaw that way, just laying in the road. It looked like it had never been used with just a scuff on the casing from hitting the asphalt. I had no idea how to find (or verify) the rightful owner or claimee, so I just kept it. Stihls are sold everywhere, so it's difficult to just take it to a local Stihl shop and see if one of their customers lost it.

 

[WinterDeere]

I kinda question people who have Never had something fall off; either you spending 30 minutes loading/checking every single time; or you're not hauling anything, ever. I do spend more thought and time securing loads now, but things still happen

I haul stuff all the time, and I can honestly say I've only lost one thing off any of my vehicles or trailers in 35 years of driving. I strap my stuff down, usually re-check my straps after a few miles, and make sure nothing can fly out. It's really not that difficult.

That one time I lose something was a round of firewood, when I was driving home and passed a good roadside score. I thought I was too close to home to bother strapping or minding weight limits, and so I piled a bit high and loose, and lost a round in a corner. It flew off the road and landed in a field. That was 15 years ago.

Anyone who loses a bucket of nails in an intersection should lose their license, IMO. Just imagine the tens of thousands of dollars of combined damage you caused, with that one moment of carelessness!

 

[dodge man]

I also have only lost one thing. I had a ladder fall out on a county highway.