[mmoore]

Nastiest moving road debris for me was when I lived in MA and was following a pickup truck loaded with 4" by 8 foot pvc pipes. Of course the genius didn't have them tied down, and just as predictably he hits a BIG bump on the highway, and these damn things bounce out and start rolling all over the road, right in front of me. I was so stunned I just kept going and miraculously managed to avoid them all. I then pulled over to wait for the shakes to stop, and contemplate an immediate change of underwear.

I guess this proves that sometimes it isn't skill - you just get lucky (or not). Now however, I *never* follow a pickup truck with any unsecured load. Seen way too much crap fly off the back of them.

 

[mmoore]

And I think there should be a special, inner circle of Hell for morons who tie a mattress to their car roof with twine!

 

[mmoore]

I'll throw in a couple of cents' worth here.

First off, you saw the cloud and driver behavior, in good time. That is excellent. Too many car drivers just stare at the bumper ahead of them. You looked far down the road and had plenty of warning that something unexpected was coming up.

With that knowledge, (and maybe you did this, but it wasn't in the post) I'd recommend opening up some car lengths between you and the guy ahead. No panic braking mind you (because the guy behind you probably isn't looking at the cloud) but a definite slow down so that you can see what's on the road before you get up to it. In heavy traffic we all tend to ride too close to the guy in front, so we don't see the road surface until we're right over it. If you have the early warning, take advantage. You never know whether, in addition to the wallboard, the guy might've lost some pipe or lumber or something else nasty.

And I think with the possibility of the sheet sliding under you, going straight over was the best course of action.