Some things just make you say WTF...

So, I had to drop off an iMac at the Apple Store today. I'm driving our shiny new van back to the office along Charles Street (it's an ex-gsa '98 Windstar, which unlike our old van has functioning brakes and some paint left on it) and notice traffic slowing down. I wonder why. Then I see why.

In the left-hand lane is a silver Suzuki XL-7 SUV. It's got it's four-way flasher on. It's also got both passenger-side tires flat. I mean, it's riding on rims. There's smoke coming off of them, and chunks of hot rubber flying on the road. The truck is sliding around between lanes, and everyone's giving it a wide berth. But the person's still driving it, probably doing around 30 or so. This went on for probably close to a mile, before they finally stopped in the left turn lane of a road. Meanwhile, they had left a trail of hot rubber chunks along the road, along with several people at bus stops who were pointing and laughing. I drove past the truck when it was finally stopped, and neither tire was attached to the wheel, and the rims were sitting at angles that they aren't supposed to.

I really can't understand why the person didn't pull off - that section of Charles has a huge shoulder, and everyone was giving the truck a ton of space, since we were pretty sure it was going to roll ass-over-teakettle over at some point. But the person kept driving. It was one of those situations where you figured something wasn't going to end well, but there was nothing you could do but wonder.

I don't know how they managed to blow out two tires in the first place, but it seems like if they had pulled over when it happened, they would probably just need two new tires. Now, they almost certainly need at least two alloy wheels, and probably a bunch of suspension stuff and possibly an axle or two.

I don't know how they managed to keep driving for so long either. I blew out a tire once when I had the PT Cruiser, on a Baltimore City pothole, and just getting it around the corner and into the right lane was a challange. I can't imagine driving at speed, in a topheavy SUV, for a mile or two.

Maybe that needs to a new driver's test question - should you drive a vehicle with two flat tires?