I expedite all my passes, too. I don't like having my sides blocked if I have a choice.

 

This is another reason I wear a full face helmet . Had this happen to me with a big piece accross my helmet and chest .

 

I am a retired truck driver/driving instructor. When passing one I make it quick. Had a truck blow a tire once as I was approaching on my bike to pass, got pelted with chunks, large piece almost took my head off when it narrowly missed.

I never ran retreads on my truck but I used them on the trailer sometimes. If you keep a close eye on the pressure they are no more prone to failure than virgin tires.

Most drivers want you to hurry and get around them no matter if you are on a bike or in a car/truck. They know the dangers and don't like traffic that stay in the danger zones.

 

Was on the Road King in morning rush hour traffic. Stop and go, but not nuts. Car in front of me slowed down but didn't stop - I braked, but not all that hard.
Behind me was awork truck - closed-in camper with tool boxes, roof rack loaded with ... sheets of roof flashing? Aluminum siding? Some kind of thin, 8"x10' sheets of thin metal.
Anyway, they weren't paying attention, and locked up their brakes, just for a second. Heard the tires chirp ... then a shitload of metal pieces are sliding past me, and getting stuck under my back tire.
Dipshit didn't secure his load, and if he'd been 5 feet closer to me when he hit his brakes, I'd have been hit from behind.

Two days later, stopped at the light before an onramo behind another work truck = same thing, but this time with PVC pipes of a variety of sizes from 1" to 4". Light turns green, he hits the gas ... and drives right out from under his load. Pipes everywhere, and the dumbass drivers around me just driving over them.

Now I know why my old man used to call work trucks and pickups "self-cleaning."

 

I've been driving trucks since '75 and have watched many a tire blow, stay away from them steering wheel holders. The chips arn't the bad stuff but the 8' long cap flying at you is.

 

I remember driving to work in my car on the expressway, this car kicked up a large metal object that hit and put a large dent in my windshield on the passenger side. If that would have hit a biker.