Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/03/18/truck-eating-bridge-claims-a-n.html
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5 Likes
Or a lowering bar at the intersection that would stop all traffic.
On the other hand we wouldn’t get to see newer videos from the truck opener cam.
5 Likes
That’ll buff out.
15 Likes
If you listen hard, you can hear the beeping from the reverse warning going on and off as the dumbass driver tries to drive backwards and forwards to try and… er… I dunno, but whatever, I wouldn’t be trying it while a god damn passenger train drives over the freakin’ bridge I just hit! Then again, how dumb do you have to be to miss all the warnings? Yeah, that explains a lot.
EDIT: Oh wait, there’s a nice big steel I-beam frame in front of and seperated from the bridge to protect it, he’s just hit that. Passenger train, you are safe from the raving idiot who can’t read!
1 Like
I like the water curtain stop signs, but the problem is that that stuff costs money.
There are already warning signs and flashing lights and stuff. At some point, there’s a point of diminishing returns on just how much you are are willing to spend versus the probability of someone ignoring all that stuff.
13 Likes
I’ve seen these things at fast-food drive throughs and parking garages where they suspend a pole from chains at the same height as the clearance. Anything over the clearance would hit the pole and make a loud bang but not do any actual damage (other than maybe a couple dents)
9 Likes
Seems like lowering the road surface 6 inches is just the ticket. i.e. spending money.
6 Likes
This is all I can think of now.
5 Likes
Tis but a scratch.
7 Likes
Except for the sewer lines and other things just below the road that any digging is going to cause damage to.
All the obvious solutions have things that make them not solutions.
14 Likes
perfect place for a drawbridge.
2 Likes
Install lasers across each of the three roads at the height of the bridge, similar to the ones at entrances to department stores that trigger a chime when a customer enters. If the beams are interrupted, a sign reading “NO TRUCK TRAFFIC” lights up next to the bridge. Since you can detect where the truck is located (which of the three roads leading to the bridge it’s on) perhaps even modify the traffic light to have green arrows pointing down the other two roads and a red arrow pointing to the bridge.
1 Like
There’s already a huge sign reading, “OVERHEIGHT MUST TURN” flashing directly over the road, no doubt triggered by some kind of sensor. It clearly doesn’t work.
11 Likes
How about a bar attached to that light post at exactly 11’ 8" on a swing arm and a a sign that says “GO SLOW!”? If the vehicle hits the bar, they’ll hear it and the bar bends backward. When they back out, the bar swings back into place.
Not perfect, but what in life is?
Im guessing the lawyers panicked when looking at a more automated and intrusive system- what if it fails to do its job? What if it is accidentally triggered causing someone else “whiplash” when the sign comes down? Is obscuring the roadway even safe?
Apparently the cheapest and most pratical solution for the city is to simply have the drivers’ insurance pay for a new i beam every few weeks.
1 Like
There is literally a giant sign right next to the stoplights flashing “OVERHEIGHT! MUST TURN!” as this guy approaches. The lights are set up to detect tall vehicles, turn the lights red on them, start flashing that sign, and stay red for several minutes to give the drivers time to spot the sign.
The special kind of stupid it takes to miss all of that would probably think the “STOP!” banner was a prank and drive straight through that, too.
4 Likes
This is an extra credit problem for my Systems Analysis class.
(So far, the best solution I myself have come up with is, make it a “no vehicles above X lbs GVWR, except city buses” route, but the detour options in that spot are not great.)
1 Like
Problem here is that full-height (12+ft) trucks have to make deliveries to both of those blocks on Pettigrew St. A knocker bar would potentially damage those vehicles too if it were far enough from the intersection to do any good. Chains might work.
3 Likes
This is the home of Duke University. Just a couple of streets away. That explains the problem.
I think some sort of laser trip signal that causes hazards to spring up and shred all four to eighteen tires. The difference riding on rims vs. an inflated tire is just enough to allow some trucks through. We then establish a truck tire and wheel business on just the other side of the bridge and live like kings.
12 Likes
