Add this to my driving paranoia list

An evergreen topic on our show when we're not talking about some current news item or the latest legislative buffoonery is what we call Driving Paranoia. Bill Doyle and I have our own, and everyone has something.

For example some people are convinced when driving over a bridge that a huge section of it might just fall right out from under them and they'll go careening down into some icy river. Paranoid, right? But it's happened! Click here for a picture that tells the whole sad story of the Mianus Bridge collapse in Connecticut back in 1983. The weird thing? As a kid I had just crossed over that exact section of bridge the day before on my way to Stratford, Connecticut.

Another example would be Bill Doyle's paranoia that someone standing on an overpass is intending to do harm by throwing something down at a car on the highway below. Crazy, right? Except that's happened too! In 1994 an 8 month old girl was killed when a bowling ball was thrown from an overpass and came into the family's car striking the baby in the head in the back seat.

I've had one paranoid thought where what if it's summertime and I'm driving on a highway with windows down. Along comes an 18-wheeler and one of its huge tires kicks up a random rock in a perfect trajectory that takes out my left eyeball. Ridiculous, right? Well years after first thinking of this Debbie Downer scenario I ended up wearing glasses, and thank God. Because one day this exact thing happened, window down, tractor trailer, rock kicked up. Because I was wearing glasses it cracked my left lens but left my eyeball alone.

Now take a hard look at this picture.

This really goes back to one of Doyle's driving paranoias who often thinks what if one of those car carriers delivering new vehicles to dealer lots had a car come loose. I never shared that one because I figured those are professionally done and a lot of precautions are taken. But then I was behind this guy in the photo. As the light turned green I snapped a quick picture. Doesn't look like a whole lot holding this vehicle on the trailer. I see one strap on each back tire. And doesn't this trailer look like it should only be transporting maybe a riding lawn mower at best? No, let's put our 3,000 pound vehicle on a Playskool trailer and hope for the best!

Do these things ever happen? Not nearly often enough to have any legitimate worry. Yet we've all seen enough Final Destination movies to be convinced they can.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski. Any opinions expressed are Jeff Deminski's own.