WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Junk on the roads. We see it every day. From pieces of tires to furniture, trash. They are highway hazards waiting to rough up your car.
Just ask Dara Hester. She hit part of a tire at 60 miles per hour.
"I actually got a quote on it. That total is going to be about $1,300," Hester said.
In truth, NC DOT actually does a pretty good job keeping roads clean. 2 Wants To Know looked at Highway Patrol accident reports. In Forsyth County in all of April, two wrecks were caused by road debris. But the cleanup process isn't easy when each piece of tire ruminates can weigh up to 70 pounds. And it isn't cheap either. Moving debris requires a four man crew – two flaggers, someone to pick the stuff and someone focused on safety.
But a tuck add on called a gator getter changes that. It sucks up road debris while one worker stays in the safety of the truck.
"It's on a front of a vehicle. That vehicle is moving at a regular rate of speed and it's just going along with traffic," NCDOT Spokesperson Miracle King said.
Right now half of NCDOT offices in the state have purchased this $17,000 machine.
"And a lot more of those divisions are actually renting them to see how it works. If it's going to work for their particular division," King said.
And that's putting Hester's mind at ease.
"I travel interstates daily and it's dangerous. I see debris on the side of the roads all the time, so I think it's a great idea," she said.
One more way this device can make you safer. Without the gator, the crews have to park their big trucks over here on the side of the road. They're 8 feet wide - sometimes that barely fits in the shoulder – creating a concern for you. With the gator, the trucks can just keep on driving.
