"Long spokes are lying on the road. They could hit tires." Drivers are guessing what it is
Readers of "Onliner" reported that strange objects have started appearing on the roads in Minsk: of various lengths, narrow, like spokes or wire — it is already known that they can get stuck in body protection elements. Motorists are guessing what they are and are also concerned that such a spoke could easily puncture a tire.
What are these spokes in the Nissan?
"I saw such a spoke on my Nissan N7. At first, I thought the sill was peeling off. I pulled it — the spoke started to bend. I looked closely: it was sticking out of the protection. Well, I pried it out," a reader told "Onliner".
"I shared it in a chat, and it turned out that at least one other person had found the same spoke. We decided it was definitely something from a car. And then a third person appeared who found such spokes in the city, just lying on the road."
The video was made on Pobediteley Avenue in Minsk. Judging by it, several spokes of different lengths were found there. The trolleybus line that runs through this area is noteworthy.
About trolleybus problems
It has been reported many times that wet weather combined with salt-treated roadways creates unfavorable conditions for trolleybus contact lines — the wires, simply put, spark and "burn". Specialists have already explained that due to insulation breakdown on special parts of the contact network, a short circuit occurs. This is a result of salt vapor settling due to the abundant spreading of anti-icing agents on the road.
"Of course, the voltage is immediately removed, and as long as the network is short-circuited, no current will be supplied. It's not dangerous, except perhaps it's best not to be under the sparks at the moment of a flash. Another matter is a broken live line. And every trolleybus driver is instructed in this case to immediately report the incident to the dispatch center," a reader who has long worked in public transport told an "Onliner" correspondent.
This is where the Nissan experts, who found strange spokes on their cars, came up with a theory: could these spokes be related to the sparking trolleybus wires?
Theory: It's not a spoke, it's a probe
There is currently no confirmed information about the origin of the so-called spokes, or how they ended up on the road. But there is a theory, proposed by the same reader who works in public transport.
"Visually, it looks like probes installed in trolleybuses that touch the ground during movement — so that the electronics understand when a leakage occurs. If there's a breakdown to the body, there will be a short circuit with the ground — then the leakage current control device will trip to disconnect. Such probes provide grounding," the interlocutor said.
Could sparking wires and probes lying on the road (if indeed they are probes) be links in one cause-and-effect chain? In other words, could a short circuit cause such a probe to break off and remain on the asphalt after a trolleybus passes?
"Unlikely, at least in my experience, it hasn't happened," our reader believes. "More likely, they just rot off — all due to the same aggressive environment, because of the salt on the roads: it corrodes the places where they are attached."
Another theory
Another theory was proposed by a different "Onliner" reader.
"This is a metal core, from which side brushes for sweeping trailers, used to clean roadsides, are made. That's why the spokes are lying near the edge of the roadway," he believes.
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