Look At What I Found In The Road Today!

[jonp]

0400 I was heading towards the interstate when I swept around a corner at a light and my headlights moved across this in the middle of the left lane. I immediately knew what it was and pulled my semi over, put my 4 ways on and when a couple of cars swerved around it and kept going, jumped out and grabbed it. Missing 1 socket and 2 wrenches which I can pick up easy enough

302528

[Handloader109]

I love it when these supposed contractors are driving around with the tailgate down or with a net across the back because the tore up the tailgate .... lose all sorts of stuff in the road.

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[Winger Ed.]

With all the small-ish flatbed trucks going down the road with stuff just thrown on them,
I'm surprised the roads aren't covered with tools and building supplies.

Over the years, I've picked up 5-6 of those red plastic gas cans, and a really nice Igloo cooler.

[Noah Zark]

. . . Missing 1 socket and 2 wrenches which I can pick up easy enough

302528


The socket and one wrench are 10mm, and the other wrench is either 13mm or 19mm.

Noah

[gpidaho]

On my way home from work one afternoon I observed a fellow who was stopped on the side of the highway picking up onions on the roadway. He was so intent on his gleaning that he stepped right in front of the pickup traveling right in front of me. In under the front bumper out the back. I leave highway treasures lay. Gp

[jonp]

The socket and one wrench are 10mm, and the other wrench is either 13mm or 19mm.

Noah

lol, you must have been following the same guy around. 13mm wrench gone like the wind

[john.k]

I see the company service trucks with the fancy drawers flying open ,and all kinds of expensive stuff coming out.....but I also knew a guy who saw a length of heavy copper cable ,leaned out to scoop it up,instant death.

[samari46]

Funniest thing I've seen on the highway is some guy's clothing flying out the bed of his truck. Must have followed him for about 5 till we got to a light. Told him what was happening. Didn't even bat an eye. Made my turnoff, so guess even more stuff flew out. Frank

[Hick]

I love it when these supposed contractors are driving around with the tailgate down or with a net across the back because the tore up the tailgate .... lose all sorts of stuff in the road.

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You wouldn't love it if what dropped in front of your vehicle was an old toilet (tank and all). Been there, didn't hit that! (Whew!)

[Milky Duck]

SCORE........ great work,so far Ive picked up a 4foot step ladder alloy...and a morgan adjustable recoil pad......couldnt stop my pushbike fast enough to grab that one.....

[Nazgul]

Having worked on the road for almost 40 years with my own expensive tools, how about trying to find who it belongs to?

I mean a Facebook/social media post to identify said item found at the spot.

Might be a Dad trying his best to support a family with what he has.

I never liked the gun show rip off threads. "Look what I bought for $$!!", about half what it is worth. Why cheat some one and then brag about it?

Don

[Randy Bohannon]

A few years ago I was at our local shooting range,it was early Spring and the snow was thin and melting. As I was walking out to the 200 yard line I see something sparkling out of the melting snow. I stop reach down and pull a carat and a bit more chocolate diamond wedding ring flawless.
I think about how it might have gotten there and surmise two things, 1, the woman was shooting and was a bit cool and the ring fell off while she pulled her glove off and didn’t notice. 2 her husband pissed her off and she tossed it.
Our local paper does free lost and found ads so I posted one every month for a year,not a single call. I suspect out of state folks and just didn’t realize where they might have lost it.

[jmcghee]

Something to think about Is that toolbox worth dying over? The amount of people on the road, is not the same as, the amount of people that know how to drive.

[rockrat]

Picked up a lawnmower one day, just sitting on the side of the road. Last week headed to the range and ended up with a 10" vise-grip. Sitting in the middle of the road. Made sure no cars within a 1/2 mile before I got out of the truck.

[contender1]

I too have done my part to pick up litter & debris off the roads. In the form of tools & such. In some places,, heavy traffic will cause me to drive on by. In other places,, easy to stop & recover an item.

There is one thing that has puzzled me for many years though.

I often see a shoe or boot. JUST ONE. Only occasionally (maybe once every 30-40 times,) will I see a pair of shoes. And I'm not talking about a childs shoe,, I'm talking about adult shoes. A single shoe alongside the road.
My wife & a few of my friends have made a joke about that "One legged guy, going around throwing away the one shoe he can't use."

How the heck does a person lose one shoe?

[MaryB]

I have found half loads of lumber... local modular home manufacturer is notorious for losing parts of loads and they just leave it lay. I saw one of their trucks lose a load, stopped. Called the factory 15 miles away and told them... "It's yours if you clear it off the road". So I loaded it into my van and went on to work. When I got home and sorted it all I had enough lumber for half the 12x16 shed I built. Ran into the plant manager one day at work(casino) and asked him. His answer? "It costs us more to send a crew out and disrupt production than it costs in lumber loss." They just file an insurance claim with the trucking company and call it good.

I have found tools including a 10 ton high lift jack that nobody claimed after I posted a found ad, grain scoop shovels are common(MN snow shovel!), ratchet straps galore, usually to beat up from the ratchet getting dragged down the road a few miles...

[farmbif]

and I thought I lived dangerously peeling wheel weights out of the asphalt along the highway exit ramps through Georgia

[Omega]

Having worked on the road for almost 40 years with my own expensive tools, how about trying to find who it belongs to?

I mean a Facebook/social media post to identify said item found at the spot.

Might be a Dad trying his best to support a family with what he has.

I never liked the gun show rip off threads. "Look what I bought for $$!!", about half what it is worth. Why cheat some one and then brag about it?

DonI see your first point, but not the second. But when posting these ads, don't give any pics, make them identify the item, too many unscrupulous people out there. As to the second point; If someone gives me a price on something, I don't care how they arrived at said price, if I want the item and think the price is good, I will buy it, if I think it's too high and feel I can haggle a better price, I will do that too. Yea, I may say I stole it, but price is relative, what I think my items are worth may not be what others think it should be, but nobody is forced to buy them.

[Thundarstick]

I found $17,000 dollars in a roadside ditch once. After a yearlong police investigation I got to keep it!

[brassrat]

Chicken dinner

[Hannibal]

Having worked on the road for almost 40 years with my own expensive tools, how about trying to find who it belongs to?

I mean a Facebook/social media post to identify said item found at the spot.

Might be a Dad trying his best to support a family with what he has.

I never liked the gun show rip off threads. "Look what I bought for $$!!", about half what it is worth. Why cheat some one and then brag about it?

Don

Dodge enough ladders laying on the highway because they weren't secured and you'll develop a pretty callous attitude about stuff lost on the road. Add the bags of trash, furniture and yard waste and I'd say not bothering to secure loads is an epidemic. Local cop got shot and killed last week when he stopped a scumbag for an expired temporary tag so I honestly don't blame them for looking the other way. If it's someone who would be hard pressed to replace the loss then I'd suggest they make sure everything is secure and not expect everyone else to try to return things lost due to carelessness or inattention.

So far as buying used firearms it's rare to be able to return an item found to be defective so I consider a used firearm is only worth what it could be parted out for at the most. If you place any value on your time and add shipping then used firearms at a gun show have to be bought cheap unless you're a gambler.

[MT Gianni]

3-4 years ago, a semi driver saw something odd on the interstate very early in the morning and backed up to make sure. It was friends, son's body after a rollover and toss out the side door of the car. Broken arms, shoulders, cracked skull, broken hips and legs and his soles separated from his feet. After some really good surgeons, Mike is kicking it today. I am really glad some folks stop.

[john.k]

My first big spanner was a Crescent 12" shifter I found half buried in the dirt road on the way to school....somewhat worn out before loss,and bent as well,I used it to work on Harleys and Indians in the days a kid could get them for pocket money.

[lightman]

Nice find! Reading the title my first thoughts were that you found a wheelwright! :)

[john.k]

i have seen complete sets of dual wheels from a truck still bolted to the hub.....from a truck the company owned....

[trapper9260]

Years ago had a pick up had the tail gate down and came flying out of the parking lot of the liquor store and a case of beer drop out in front me. I had to stop before I hit it , they did not know what happened. I picked it up and only lost one beer from the case. It was the brand I had drink .

[JimB..]

Nice find! Reading the title my first thoughts were that you found a wheelwright! :)

Almost exactly what I was thinking.
Almost.

[Land Owner]

Intersection Tools! Love them! Some are roadside gems...
Dodge cars? Not on YOUR life. When it is clear from Maine to Miami - go get 'em.

Carpenter's hammers
Socket wrenches
Sockets
Steamboat ratchet jack
Wheel weights
4# sledgehammer
Screw drivers
400 Lumen flashlight, Bushnell Pro, on a bridge shoulder, before dawn, lit, which made me look and facing traffic (none at that hour)
2200 Lumen flashlight, Stanley "Fatmax" rechargeable, on a roadside, middle of the day, tiny scratch, works great
20-ft. chain with hooked ends
Ratchet straps, 10K test

Who is the "rightful" owner? I am!
If I see you lose it, or you are about to, I will track you and tell you. That is fair play.
If it is lying there, no distinguishing marks, it is free-Free-FREE!

[shooterg]

Back in the day when I was working convicts on a road crew cleaning ditches, got everything from crescent wrenches/crowbars to steak knives to hot beers, and ONE .25 caliber pocket pistol ! Thought either me or the guard was gonna have to shoot the vic that found it as he was trying to do the wild west twirl with it before giving it up. Had 3 in the mag, none in the chamber. Different con found it, mighta been pocketed and caused some real trouble.

[Frosty Boolit]

I got a yeti cooler full of beer and liquor including a yeti 32oz mug. We drank the beer and left the liquor near a garbage can for a lucky Cleveland hobo!

[john.k]

I was working on a truck beside the expressway,couldnt get at a nut behind the turbo,so I went to bend a spanner .....hit it hard ,it sprung way across the lanes of traffic and bounced off a car .....one spanner I was leaving for someone else.

[ulav8r]

Found a few small tools but my best find was a 10 foot, 1" hex brass bar. Two nights in a row I noticed something blink of the shoulder of the freeway, stopped the third night and picked up the bar.

[BLAHUT]

I WAS BEHIND A ROOFING COMPANY TRUCK YEARS AGO ON THE FREWAY A NEW BOX 25lb BOX OF ROOFING NAILS FELL OFF AND EXPLODED ON THE HIGHWAY IN HEAVY TRAFIC I WAS LUCKY THE CARS BEHIND ME NOT SO MANY FLAT TIRES TIRES

[slim1836]

I found a pouch full of sheet metal tools years ago and two days later saw the add in the paper. Young kid lost them on the way to work off the back of his motorcycle. Was happy to return them and declined the reward.

Found a purse and tracked the owner 3 hours before her flight back to England, again declined the reward. She sent a gift card once she got home.

Found a wallet a guy lost off the back of of his bike, tracked him down and returned it. He acted like I stole it. You never know who you meet now a day.

Found $110 in a bar, told bartender if anyone reports lost money to send them my way. Never happened, lucky me and the bartender as a tip was left.

Tools I keep unless I find a post of them being lost. Still looking for that treasure chest.

Wheel weights were always mine, worked on roadways for 40+ years. Still look for them out of habit.

Slim

[bedbugbilly]

Hmmmm . . . in Michigan, you don't have to worry about stuff falling out of an open tailgate, etc. . . . with all the potholed stuff just sort of bounces out . . .

[lightman]

When my buddy retired from farming his Son and Nephew took over the ground. We would run parts for them, sometimes even out of State. So we covered a lot of miles.

We made a game of picking up weights at intersections and on/off ramps. We often found tools, mostly cheap ones but the occasional nee one. Out oddest find was a Lyman ingot! Would love to know its story. I carried a magnet on a stick and could often reach weights out of the window.

As a disclaimer, we were very cautious about traffic and very conscience of causing congestion to other traffic.

[Scrounge]

Found a few small tools but my best find was a 10 foot, 1" hex brass bar. Two nights in a row I noticed something blink of the shoulder of the freeway, stopped the third night and picked up the bar.

drool!!!

[Mal Paso]

I was driving I5 in the dense Tule Fog of the central valley trying to keep my attention on driving. Mile after mile of Grey and you just want to go to sleep so I started scanning side to side. A 5 foot tall full size camper shell appeared 50 feet ahead in the middle of my lane and I missed it.

[jonp]

Driving almost 4,000,000 ive found a bunch of stuff. Canoe paddles, life jackets, coolers, tools, ladders, case of beer, Nikon Camera in case, AR-15 (called cops on that one and stood guard), lumber, cubes of peat moss. Tons of stuff

[David2011]

Found some things, lost some. Heading to the hunting lease a few years ago I let the teenager riding shotgun close the tailgate of my truck. He was born around trucks so no need to doubt his ability. My mistake. Lost the cooler with our food and drinks for the weekend. Cost me a replacement for his dad’s cooler and a new batch of food and drinks.

After getting the truck reassembled one evening after dark I went for a test drive. I heard the creeper rolling around but forgot that the tailgate was down. It was a brand new creeper.

Best find was around 1980, long before the Internet and social media. I found a metal toolbox in the road in front of where I worked. Picked it up, brought it inside and found welding torches and associated items. Kept it there for a couple of weeks in case someone came looking for it and eventually took it home. It contained a Victor 315 torch with a cutting head, several tips, a rosebud, three welding tips and small stuff like a soapstone holder, goggles, tip cleaners, etc. I still have and use it.

[Gator 45/70]

Was in the local Academy today (yes they have primers) when the call of mother nature rang so off I go
about halfway taking care of business some young guy walks by the door and asked Sir is my phone in there?
I look around and sure enough a black phone is on top of the black toilet paper dispenser?
I thought the dude had left so about a minute later I finish up unlock the door and a young cat is standing there.
I ask him Were you the one looking for a phone?
He's like yes sir so I hand it to him and off he goes.
Another guy is washing his hands and so I tell him You know I could have taken a couple of interesting pictures for the lad.
We had a chuckle about that.
About the primers since some may ask, Started at 7.99 per 100 Others were at 8.99 per 100
Don't recall the price vs application, I passed on them all.

[kevin c]

I once saw a very nice wheel from a high end bicycle on the highway.

Since it was coming at me out of the rear of a pickup with a bed mounted rack (why I could tell it was off a nice frame) at a closing velocity of 70 mph, and was bouncing windshield high, I decided I really didn’t want it and swerved. Almost lost control, and had enough adrenaline dumped to last me the next 20 odd miles.

[MaryB]

I was following my boss who was delivering a new fridge. Going down the highway at 60mph a really bad wind gust hit and lifted the fridge up and out of the strap holding it in then it caught on the tail of the truck and dragged for 400 feet. I almost needed a change of underwear and pants that day. All I saw was a 200 pound fridge about to go thru my windshield as I slammed on the brakes. Boss ended up using that fridge in his garage, it was really beat up but still worked after sitting for a day to let oil drain back towards the compressor.

He had tied straps around it instead of using ratchet straps... next day he told everyone that the ONLY straps to be on that truck are ratchet style

[Hannibal]

I've seen camper shells off on the side of the road numerous times. You'd think no one would be stupid enough to think that the weight alone would hold one on at highway speeds but apparently there are many who do.

[Bulldogger]

I picked up a YJ Jeep topper like that once!