Have you ever stopped to remove the stone from the middle of the road while driving?

Exhaust_Note · 26th April 2010, 16:36

Last Friday, I was riding from Pune to Kharghar (Navi Mumbai) and in the middle of nowhere there was this fist sized stone. In a moment of stupidity, I stared at it a second too long and my bike went over it. did not fall, no damages. Controlled the bike, stopped and parked it. Returned the 200Ft or so and cleared the stone off the road.

Passing cars were staring at me as if I was loony.

How many times have we noticed potential hazards on the road and took the time to stop and remove it? Apart from this once which does not count since I was a victim, I remember doing it only once or twice. But many times I watched it as I passed by. Not good.

Things I have let pass are mostly stones, branches, pieces of card-board and thermocol, oil spills (could put some dirt on it), broken pieces of other automobiles, curved tires being most dangerous.

What I NEVER miss is a stray or hurt animal in the middle of the road. even if it is somewhat dangerous chasing a pup on NH 17 or trying to catch a hurt & frightened grown up dog.

This thread is to share experiences so that we are all motivated to spend that 10 minutes to make the roads a wee bit safer. It aims to serve the same purpose as "accidents in India" thread but is less dramatic I would say but equally important.

download2live · 26th April 2010, 16:48

If I am on bike and at signal I find a stone on road I try to kick it off the road without getting off the bike. I know this is bad on my part to pass by the stones otherwise.

channelv · 26th April 2010, 17:02

Yep do that whenever I find the stone in a position where it could result in accidents and also when am in a situation where I can take the time.

Worst is the look on some people's face when I do it, they look at me as if am dumb.

Once one guy(in his vehicle) asked why I did not do it before and even pointed me other stones!

sammyboy · 26th April 2010, 17:09

I agree its a nice thing to do but you have to be a little careful. I have heard of numerous incidents on the UP highways where this used to be the pet trick of the robbers. They used to put large stones on the roads (usually after dark but not always) and hide in the bushes, as soon as anyone stopped and tried clearing the stones they would surround them (armed with guns/sticks) and rob them.

In cities, crowded areas etc. yeah I have done that myself.

Spitfire · 26th April 2010, 17:20

Funny such a thread comes up.

I was riding home last Wednesday, when heavy winds were hitting Bangalore. I neared the HAL Helicopter division side and on the left hand side road towards Marathahalli they have dug up the road, effectively making it single lane. There are these Police barricades kept around this dug up spot. One of them was fallen on its side onto the road.

Every vehicle was gingerly making its way around it. The lane had almost become 3/4th its original width. Ofcourse traffic had come to a crawl. I reached the spot saw what was happening, parked the bike on the side and lifted the barricade back on its feet. As soon as I did that the I bikers stormed from behind my back not even giving time for me to get out of that place.

That thing sure is heavy though.

vasoo · 26th April 2010, 17:38

Never had to do that for a stone, but did it recently for an infant monkey which was found in the middle of the road while driving near Bandipur. It seemed to have been abandoned by its mother in the road.

Exhaust_Note · 26th April 2010, 17:41

@Spitfire: How could I miss one of the most obvious ones in any city? Fallen barricades. Yes it is indeed funny when people spend more energy and time "avoiding" it rather than removing it

.

lordofgondor · 26th April 2010, 17:41

Have done this a few times. The ones that come straight to mind are:

1. While going from Jodhpur to Pokhran, I saw a boulder lying almost at the entrance of a curve. Though it was on the opposite direction of my travel, I decided to move it cause I felt it may spell disaster for someone coming from that side. I had to post a friend of mine as a lookout as it was a fast curve.

2. Similar thing happened while traveling to Chaukori. The culprit was a huge rock.

Abhay · 26th April 2010, 18:02

Not about rocks and stones but an incident which happened last year -
I and my wife were driving to Panchgani in the monsoons (just before Wai). A small pup (barely a month old) was walking right in the middle of the road and a ST bus coming opposite saw it and slowed and finally stopped. Problem was the driver could not see the small pup on the road so he was waiting to see it emerge on the other side. We stopped too to let it pass but it seemed afraid to cross and froze right in the middle. My wife immediately got out in the rain and picked it up while I pulled over on the left side.

As if we had wasted a huge amount of valuable time (this happened all within a minute ) the chauffered SUV behind me started honking and passed us as I pulled to the left. A guy rolled down his window and indignantly and very rudely told my wife ""Arre woh kutte ko jaldi bajuu hatao na!"

What can you say to such idiots?
We put it down on the other side (some roadside sorts came over and asked us do you want to take the puppy etc and demanded money for the same- even crazier!)

We patted it dry and set the pup down in a safer place but were left sort of feeling stupid for what we thought was the natural and sensible thing to do in this case.

Iluvcars · 26th April 2010, 19:16

I've done that but only a couple of times. The reason I didn't do the rest of the times was that either the traffic was not thin or the road wasn't a long enough stretch for me to get a good view to ensure that I won't be run over while at work.

lejhoom · 26th April 2010, 23:04

Sure I did. A few years back, while driving down to Bangalore from Hyderabad I was approaching Kurnool. Those days the road was not so wide as you see now. It was about 2 pm on a hot May day. On a stretch flanked on both sides by paddy fields I sweep down at about 140 km/h. There right in front of me were two stones, 1 cubic feet in dimension. I quickly calculated I have just enough space to squeeze through. There was no point in braking. The car wouldn't stop. I couldn't swerve to either side too. The paddy fields were about 10 foot below. I was amazed at myself when I just passed through the stones. The front right hub cap took a small nick. Luckily nothing happened to the wheel. There were no vehicles in sight. I stopped the car a good 15 feet from the stones, got down in that scorching heat and heaved both stones out into the paddy field. I didn't want an ugly accident to take place there.
I had seen tractor trailers ferrying such stones on the road and obviously these too came from one such trailer. Stones were just heaped on the trailer and it was indeed an invitation to disaster. I thanked my stars and drove off.

kkg · 26th April 2010, 23:18

[quote]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exhaust_Note

Last Friday, I was riding from Pune to Kharghar (Navi Mumbai) and in the middle of nowhere there was this fist sized stone. In a moment of stupidity, I stared at it a second too long and my bike went over it. did not fall, no damages.

You were lucky but i wasn't. I went over such a stone many years back and fell over quite badly. Fortunately with no bones broken i stood on to my feet and lifted the stone first then my bike. Since then, I have lifted many stones off the road but regret not lifting many (mainly due to oncoming traffic and sometimes because i am in hurry..

)

Thad E Ginathom · 26th April 2010, 23:23

I stopped to pick up a full carrier bag once; it fell of the back of the bike in front of me. There was no way I could catch the guy, but I put it by the side of the road.

I sometimes wonder if the guy and his bag were ever re-united!

JustCause · 27th April 2010, 09:02

I have lifted quite a number of things off the road, here they are in chronological order:

A pavement end stone(you know, the hard concrete one, lying in the middle of the road and was a serious hazard), a DIY brick stumps(built by the local street cricket players and left abandoned till about 10 p.m.

.

And the thing I got myself into was a 'net' built for badminton(trust me,you can't see it till you go through it).

All these incidents happened on the service road just outside my colony.

honeybee · 27th April 2010, 09:42

I do that a lot of times when walking on the road. Stones, sharp objects, fallen branches...

While driving a car, I have come across a couple of situations where a stone lying in the middle of the road would be a potential hazard for someone riding a two wheeler, but have never had occasion to stop and remove the stones. I was doing about 60+ on both occasions and with good amount of traffic. By the time I noticed the stone, signalled and stopped, I would be much farther away, and it would be a big problem to either walk back (relatively easier) or drive back (almost impossible) to the stone and get it out of the way.

But if I am parked on the side of the road and see any potential hazards like this, I do go and try to clear them.

26th April 2010, 16:36	#1
Exhaust_Note BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 220 Thanked: 43 Times	Have you ever stopped to remove the stone from the middle of the road while driving? Last Friday, I was riding from Pune to Kharghar (Navi Mumbai) and in the middle of nowhere there was this fist sized stone. In a moment of stupidity, I stared at it a second too long and my bike went over it. did not fall, no damages. Controlled the bike, stopped and parked it. Returned the 200Ft or so and cleared the stone off the road. Passing cars were staring at me as if I was loony. How many times have we noticed potential hazards on the road and took the time to stop and remove it? Apart from this once which does not count since I was a victim, I remember doing it only once or twice. But many times I watched it as I passed by. Not good. Things I have let pass are mostly stones, branches, pieces of card-board and thermocol, oil spills (could put some dirt on it), broken pieces of other automobiles, curved tires being most dangerous. What I NEVER miss is a stray or hurt animal in the middle of the road. even if it is somewhat dangerous chasing a pup on NH 17 or trying to catch a hurt & frightened grown up dog. This thread is to share experiences so that we are all motivated to spend that 10 minutes to make the roads a wee bit safer. It aims to serve the same purpose as "accidents in India" thread but is less dramatic I would say but equally important.
	() Thanks

26th April 2010, 16:48	#2
download2live Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: - Posts: 1,155 Thanked: 1,164 Times	If I am on bike and at signal I find a stone on road I try to kick it off the road without getting off the bike. I know this is bad on my part to pass by the stones otherwise.
	(1) Thanks

26th April 2010, 17:02	#3
channelv BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Kochi Posts: 170 Thanked: 65 Times	Yep do that whenever I find the stone in a position where it could result in accidents and also when am in a situation where I can take the time. Worst is the look on some people's face when I do it, they look at me as if am dumb. Once one guy(in his vehicle) asked why I did not do it before and even pointed me other stones!
	() Thanks

26th April 2010, 17:09	#4
sammyboy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Ggn/Dehradun Posts: 1,842 Thanked: 523 Times View My Garage	I agree its a nice thing to do but you have to be a little careful. I have heard of numerous incidents on the UP highways where this used to be the pet trick of the robbers. They used to put large stones on the roads (usually after dark but not always) and hide in the bushes, as soon as anyone stopped and tried clearing the stones they would surround them (armed with guns/sticks) and rob them. In cities, crowded areas etc. yeah I have done that myself.
	() Thanks

26th April 2010, 17:20	#5
Spitfire BANNED Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Panaji - Goa/Bangalore - Karnataka Posts: 3,313 Thanked: 777 Times	Funny such a thread comes up. I was riding home last Wednesday, when heavy winds were hitting Bangalore. I neared the HAL Helicopter division side and on the left hand side road towards Marathahalli they have dug up the road, effectively making it single lane. There are these Police barricades kept around this dug up spot. One of them was fallen on its side onto the road. Every vehicle was gingerly making its way around it. The lane had almost become 3/4th its original width. Ofcourse traffic had come to a crawl. I reached the spot saw what was happening, parked the bike on the side and lifted the barricade back on its feet. As soon as I did that the I bikers stormed from behind my back not even giving time for me to get out of that place. That thing sure is heavy though.
	(1) Thanks

26th April 2010, 17:38	#6
vasoo Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Memphis TN Posts: 1,039 Thanked: 246 Times View My Garage	Never had to do that for a stone, but did it recently for an infant monkey which was found in the middle of the road while driving near Bandipur. It seemed to have been abandoned by its mother in the road.
	() Thanks

26th April 2010, 17:41	#7
Exhaust_Note BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 220 Thanked: 43 Times	@Spitfire: How could I miss one of the most obvious ones in any city? Fallen barricades. Yes it is indeed funny when people spend more energy and time "avoiding" it rather than removing it .
	() Thanks

26th April 2010, 17:41	#8
lordofgondor BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: UP 16 Posts: 936 Thanked: 159 Times	Have done this a few times. The ones that come straight to mind are: 1. While going from Jodhpur to Pokhran, I saw a boulder lying almost at the entrance of a curve. Though it was on the opposite direction of my travel, I decided to move it cause I felt it may spell disaster for someone coming from that side. I had to post a friend of mine as a lookout as it was a fast curve. 2. Similar thing happened while traveling to Chaukori. The culprit was a huge rock.
	() Thanks

26th April 2010, 18:02	#9
Abhay BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 727 Thanked: 11 Times	Not about rocks and stones but an incident which happened last year - I and my wife were driving to Panchgani in the monsoons (just before Wai). A small pup (barely a month old) was walking right in the middle of the road and a ST bus coming opposite saw it and slowed and finally stopped. Problem was the driver could not see the small pup on the road so he was waiting to see it emerge on the other side. We stopped too to let it pass but it seemed afraid to cross and froze right in the middle. My wife immediately got out in the rain and picked it up while I pulled over on the left side. As if we had wasted a huge amount of valuable time (this happened all within a minute ) the chauffered SUV behind me started honking and passed us as I pulled to the left. A guy rolled down his window and indignantly and very rudely told my wife ""Arre woh kutte ko jaldi bajuu hatao na!" What can you say to such idiots? We put it down on the other side (some roadside sorts came over and asked us do you want to take the puppy etc and demanded money for the same- even crazier!) We patted it dry and set the pup down in a safer place but were left sort of feeling stupid for what we thought was the natural and sensible thing to do in this case.
	(1) Thanks

26th April 2010, 19:16	#10
Iluvcars BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Bangalore / Toronto, Canada Posts: 155 Thanked: 9 Times	I've done that but only a couple of times. The reason I didn't do the rest of the times was that either the traffic was not thin or the road wasn't a long enough stretch for me to get a good view to ensure that I won't be run over while at work.
	() Thanks

26th April 2010, 23:04	#11
lejhoom BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 377 Thanked: 193 Times	Sure I did. A few years back, while driving down to Bangalore from Hyderabad I was approaching Kurnool. Those days the road was not so wide as you see now. It was about 2 pm on a hot May day. On a stretch flanked on both sides by paddy fields I sweep down at about 140 km/h. There right in front of me were two stones, 1 cubic feet in dimension. I quickly calculated I have just enough space to squeeze through. There was no point in braking. The car wouldn't stop. I couldn't swerve to either side too. The paddy fields were about 10 foot below. I was amazed at myself when I just passed through the stones. The front right hub cap took a small nick. Luckily nothing happened to the wheel. There were no vehicles in sight. I stopped the car a good 15 feet from the stones, got down in that scorching heat and heaved both stones out into the paddy field. I didn't want an ugly accident to take place there. I had seen tractor trailers ferrying such stones on the road and obviously these too came from one such trailer. Stones were just heaped on the trailer and it was indeed an invitation to disaster. I thanked my stars and drove off.
	(1) Thanks

26th April 2010, 23:23	#13
Thad E Ginathom Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 11,152 Thanked: 27,859 Times	I stopped to pick up a full carrier bag once; it fell of the back of the bike in front of me. There was no way I could catch the guy, but I put it by the side of the road. I sometimes wonder if the guy and his bag were ever re-united!
	() Thanks

27th April 2010, 09:02	#14
JustCause BHPian Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Currently, New Delhi Posts: 422 Thanked: 100 Times View My Garage	I have lifted quite a number of things off the road, here they are in chronological order: A pavement end stone(you know, the hard concrete one, lying in the middle of the road and was a serious hazard), a DIY brick stumps(built by the local street cricket players and left abandoned till about 10 p.m.. And the thing I got myself into was a 'net' built for badminton(trust me,you can't see it till you go through it). All these incidents happened on the service road just outside my colony.
	() Thanks

27th April 2010, 09:42	#15
honeybee Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Dombivli Posts: 3,056 Thanked: 2,139 Times View My Garage	I do that a lot of times when walking on the road. Stones, sharp objects, fallen branches... While driving a car, I have come across a couple of situations where a stone lying in the middle of the road would be a potential hazard for someone riding a two wheeler, but have never had occasion to stop and remove the stones. I was doing about 60+ on both occasions and with good amount of traffic. By the time I noticed the stone, signalled and stopped, I would be much farther away, and it would be a big problem to either walk back (relatively easier) or drive back (almost impossible) to the stone and get it out of the way. But if I am parked on the side of the road and see any potential hazards like this, I do go and try to clear them.
	() Thanks