Mattresses and highway etiquette?

Question

I was driving on the parkway yesterday and saw a dead mattress lying on the shoulder. Looked like it had just fallen there recently, since it was sticking out onto the right lane a bit and looked fairly clean.

What's the etiquette for dealing with a mattress that has flown off your vehicle? The Parkway is a pretty busy roadway; I would think it would be unsafe to go and try and collect your former/future sleeping companion, but, should you just leave the thing there to die an ignominious death?

Answer 1

It is littering to leave something that falls off your car. You can certainly circle back to retrieve it (if you know that it's gone) but need to be very careful. You can call the police and tell them what happened and they will close a lane for you to remove it.

Answer 2

well actually the state workers usually clean up the junk along roads... though you would know if you lost your mattress so you would think that you would pull over and try an recover it

Answer 3

well if you were in california,you can call  chp and report the mattters blocking the roadway,(this case 911 would be okay to use)

they would probally send out a offier to clear the blockage (and perhaps help you reload

your mattess but you would also probally get a ticket for

having a loose load)

Answer 4

America uses highways as a dumping ground.