A motorist traveling on Hwy. 52 in Inver Grove Heights last Wednesday had quite the unusual experience. A large piece of heavy-duty plastic flew off a dump truck and wrapped around his SUV.
The driver was heading south on Hwy. 52 near Upper 55th Street when he saw the jettisoned plastic come his way. He slowed down and pulled off to the side of the road, but could not get out of the way.
A State Trooper caught the incident on his dash cam and posted it to Facebook.
"Well, that's something you don't see every day," the posting said. It also came with a reminder for motorists to secure their loads to avoid a potentially deadly situation.
In this case nobody was hurt, but objects falling off vehicles is a big safety concern and a frequent occurrence. A report from the Government Accountability Office found that there are 51,000 incidents involving unsecured loads in the United States each year, killing 440 people and injuring 10,000 people.
The patrol also is using the incident to remind drivers why it's important to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the roads and not on their phones.
