[N/A] Don't Drive Around Cars On Fire

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Driving tonight, I came across a car on fire on the side of the interstate. Two state troopers were pulled over on the side, but no one was outside of the cars. So I pull into the furthest lane and slowly past the cars. Given my luck I ended up next to the burning car the instant the cargo decided to explode.

Let's just say I felt the heat inside of my car....

One of the Troopers decided to run me down, pull me over, and tear my ass a new one. He said he would have given me a ticket for stupidity if it existed.

Lesson learned today: Just stop a good distance away and wait.
 
You didn't take a selfie and post it on FB?

Why would you knowingly drive next to a vehicle on fire?
 
Geico266 said:
Why would you knowingly drive next to a vehicle on fire?
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Well, I wouldn't consider "the farthest lane" to be "next to" especially if there were more than 2 lanes in each direction. :dunno:

If there were 3 lanes and the car is on the shoulder, I don't think I'd hesitate being the impatient person that I am. I wouldn't drive slowly past however...

Edit: I guess I'd qualify the above by saying there'd be a big difference in my actions depending upon if the flames were 3' or 20'. I'm not "Henning Suicidal" after all.
 
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timwinters said:
Well, I wouldn't consider "the farthest lane" to be "next to" especially if there were more than 2 lanes in each direction. :dunno:

If there were 3 lanes and the car is on the shoulder, I don't think I'd hesitate being the impatient person that I am. I wouldn't drive slowly past however...

Edit: I guess I'd qualify the above by saying there'd be a big difference in my actions depending upon if the flames were 3' or 20'. I'm not "Henning Suicidal" after all.
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He said; "Given my luck I ended up next to the burning car the instant the cargo decided to explode ."
 
Thanks for the heads up. Common sense needs reinforcing sometimes.
 
how many cars on fire explode? (ignore Hollywood special effects)

If the LEOs didn't want anyone going around the burning vehicle, maybe they should have blocked the road.
 
:confused:
Bob Noel said:
how many cars on fire explode? (ignore Hollywood special effects)

If the LEOs didn't want anyone going around the burning vehicle, maybe they should have blocked the road.
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True. They should have blocked traffic until the fire was under control. However, the OP said he passed cars that were stopped. The cops may have assumed no one would be dumb enough to pull next to the burning car hense why the OP was pursued, pulled over, and had his ass chewed. ;)
 
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I'd drive by it. I've been around burning vehicles without the protection or speed of a car, why would I not drive one? :dunno: Yeah, you feel the heat, fire hot, so? :confused:
 
Yea.... If he ain't blocking off the road, tell him to shove it. If your car was damaged by the explosion, file a claim with the state because the trooper SHOULD have blocked the road. After all, it was sooooooo dangerous to drive past the fire in the first place, so why didn't he stop you?

Seems like you have a position to me, but I'm no sea lawyer either.
 
It's pretty stunning how quickly a car fire can spread. Give them wide berth. But yeah, if the troopers didn't want anyone driving by, they could have blocked the lanes.

Worst shock I had when driving was on a nice summer day, on the highway, windows rolled down, a semi was slowly passing on my left and one of his outer tires blew, right next to my left ear. That hurt.
 
wait a minute ... who's the stupid one in this ...

the OP "drove past the burning car"
yet
"One of the Troopers decided to run me down" ... assuming on foot?

Even if not so, then "so did the trooper"
 
gkainz said:
wait a minute ... who's the stupid one in this ...

the OP "drove past the burning car"
yet
"One of the Troopers decided to run me down" ... assuming on foot?

Even if not so, then "so did the trooper"
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Typical cop IMHO. Loves to hear the serien & red lights. He should have blocked the road if he didn't want anyone to drive by. Chasing him after the fact was pretty stupid.
 
I think I would have torn into the cop. I would have stated that if you didn't want me to drive around, you should have done your job. You failed at your job and now you are blaming me.

Then I would have driven away.

But then again, I have never seen a burning car explode either. Except in the movies.
 
Unregistered said:
Driving tonight, I came across a car on fire on the side of the interstate. Two state troopers were pulled over on the side, but no one was outside of the cars. So I pull into the furthest lane and slowly past the cars. Given my luck I ended up next to the burning car the instant the cargo decided to explode.

Let's just say I felt the heat inside of my car....

One of the Troopers decided to run me down, pull me over, and tear my ass a new one. He said he would have given me a ticket for stupidity if it existed.

Lesson learned today: Just stop a good distance away and wait.
Click to expand...
Why were you driving slowly past a burning car?

As for the cop running you down, did you ask him why he didn't have the highway closed?
 
JOhnH said:
Why were you driving slowly past a burning car?

As for the cop running you down, did you ask him why he didn't have the highway closed?
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That's my question in all this, minimize your exposure time and get on the throttle.:lol:
 
Cars generally don't explode, but they can, if you see a burning tire on a car or a truck, BEWARE.. burning tires are bombs, I saw a truck tire burning, it had a split ring rim, it exploded... the ring cut a tree in half about 10 ft from it, just the exploding rubber can be deadly. Cars with fuel tanks near empty generally explode, full tanks burn off like a candle,, but no guarantee's. I treat all car fires like bombs... 25 years in law enforcement,,, many stories
 
You didn't get a citation because he knew you didn't commit a violation. Unless he was actively directing traffic not to drive past.
 
That trooper is waste of flesh who couldn't find anything better to do with his time. I've never seen the flow of traffic stop for a burning car. At most a fire truck has come out and blocked one lane.
 
bahama flier said:
Cars generally don't explode, but they can, if you see a burning tire on a car or a truck, BEWARE.. burning tires are bombs, I saw a truck tire burning, it had a split ring rim, it exploded... the ring cut a tree in half about 10 ft from it, just the exploding rubber can be deadly. Cars with fuel tanks near empty generally explode, full tanks burn off like a candle,, but no guarantee's. I treat all car fires like bombs... 25 years in law enforcement,,, many stories
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Split rings, 3 piece wheels are dangerous. People have been killed just inflating the tires. As a very young man I worked at a truck stop repairing tires. I was the only one stupid enough to do it. I also drove the small wrecker.

I have seen items in the car pop. Like aerosol cans and once a fire extinguisher. A couple times I heard bullets cooking off. I have seen gas tanks split open and then the fuel catch fire. I have never seen one pop like a movie explosion. Burning tires are still the biggest danger.

I haven't seen a split rim ring in more than 30 years except at vintage truck shows. Every time I see an old yellow safety cage at a abandoned truck stop, I break out in a cold sweat....:hairraise:
 
Zeldman said:
Split rings, 3 piece wheels are dangerous. People have been killed just inflating the tires. As a very young man I worked at a truck stop repairing tires. I was the only one stupid enough to do it. I also drove the small wrecker.....:hairraise:
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Worked at a garage in highschool that was VERY busy and sold gas as well there. We were not allowed to work on that type of wheel and directed customers with these down the highway to your type facility;)
 
I changed a lot of three piece, and two piece split rims. If a tire is going to burst due to heat pressure and loss of material through fire, having the rim come apart is pretty low on the scale or worries.

The only one I ever had come apart was a 60s era Chebby truck with the three piece banded bead. Maybe I didn't get the band in the bead channel all the way, I don't know. We had a wall next to the inflator, and we just put the splits behind the wall, and let them air up. BLAM! Found the tire whole, bits of the tube, and the inner wheel, never found the ring or the bead band. I think it's still in orbit.
 
Zeldman said:
Split rings, 3 piece wheels are dangerous. People have been killed just inflating the tires. As a very young man I worked at a truck stop repairing tires. I was the only one stupid enough to do it. I also drove the small wrecker.
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Crummy copy of a very real picture from 1969, the caption is hard to read. A man and his 13 yr old son were inflating a repaired tractor tire when it exploded. A newsman had just happened to be going by and took this pic of the accident scene and shocked wife/mom just seconds after the explosion. Both were killed instantly. Scary stuff.
 

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danhagan said:
Worked at a garage in highschool that was VERY busy and sold gas as well there. We were not allowed to work on that type of wheel and directed customers with these down the highway to your type facility;)
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Thanks buddy..!!! You sending us business probably paid for my flight training..!!

I was paid 30 cents a tire, but 45 cents for a split rim... Man, I thought I had found a money tree..!!! :lol::lol:

I never blew a ring off the wheel but our cage had some massive dents in it.
 
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