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So close and yet so smushed
By adamg on Thu, 01/12/2017 - 10:22am
If only that bridge were 12'1" instead of just 12', he might have made it. Instead the driver of this storrowed box truck now has to explain to the state troopers why he ignored the CARS ONLY signs, in a classic Storrow Drive tableau captured by Raymond the roving UHub photographer at 9:06 this morning.
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Comments
ha
that trooper's face who's getting out of the car just screams "you dumbass". But seriously he probably got screamed at.
"Great, another truck driver
"Great, another truck driver who can't read signs. FML"
Or a driver who read the low clearance sign that doesn't
give an actual clearance at the entrance and decided to risk it. Or a driver who doesn't understand that a rubber baby buggy bumper with hand applied orange letters is somebody's idea of a regulatory sign. Or both.
Did you look at the picture?
Clearance is very clear.
You could put up dozens of signs like they do in NC and you would still have this problem because the drivers are not paying attention to anything but their phone.
Quit making excuses for incompetent bozos, please. Being behind the wheel means that you bear more responsibility, not less. If you are a commercial driver, you need to know how to use an atlas or a commercial GPS unit or stay the eff out of major urban areas of the northeast.
"bozo"
Truly underused in today's vernacular, and fitting for this individual. Thanks for keeping this word alive.
Putting the sign on the
Putting the sign on the obstruction itself is not an approved technique.
On a run one time
I saw a storrowing, with a trooper standing in the middle of Storrow after the Bowker blocking traffic so they could back up the truck. I made a comment about reading comprehension and he said "happens all the time" and rolled his eyes. Is it really so hard to read?
that poor trooper on the right
thats the face of a man that lost a bet
always bet on the bridge, trooper
The truck got partway through
The truck got partway through. Time to use the famous trick of letting some air out of the tires?
Yep
If you look closely at the photo, you can see a guy who could very well be the driver looking like he's getting ready to do just that.
Yes -- confirmed: as the
Yes -- confirmed: as the photographer, the driver was stuck and letting the air out as we drove by....
I still think MASSDOT should
I still think MASSDOT should sell advertising on overpasses along Storrow Drive.
This Storrowing is brought to you by Gillette.
"The only shave closer than a Mach3 is a Storrowing."
n/t
Paint the overpass
like a razor head
In human factors engineering I learned...
... that, while most aviation accidents are pilot error, sometimes you find a situation in which airplane model 'B' becomes involved in pilot error accidents at 10x the rate of airplane model 'A', even though they are flown by similar pilots on similar missions...
... and, although the accidents are legitimately pilot error, if you don't look at the airplane, you're really missing the point.
And in this case
Trucks get in Storrowing accidents more than cars because they're taller. Neither car drivers nor truck drivers can read the signs, but car drivers don't have to.
I think we need sensors at the entrance ramps that can tell when a vehicle is too tall to enter Storrow and causes a gate to shoot across the ramp several feet further down, to block the trucks. Preferably a gate that can shoot red paint spelling out "Idiot driver" across the front of the truck.
Chains
Storrow drive really needs chains at the entrances to prevent this. That loud sound should stop people..
but then again, if they aren't reading the signs, they probably wouldn't pay attention to the sounds either.
There might be a problem with the signage?
Enter Storrow Drive inbound from the Bowker overpass. There is no warning sign in your lane. Yeah, you ought to be able to figure it out if you're paying attention, but the signage is deficient.
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3510304,-71.0914368,3a,75y,45.51h,77.39t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sAi25nL3pZY5LccMq93jbtA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Heres a warning in the outbound direction, but by the time you see it there's no way to divert:
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.348036,-71.0923271,3a,75y,4.39h,79.6t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sUEKSKJnvBNJEXFdYSTLfiQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Enter inbound from University Ave near the Mass. Ave bridge. No sign until too late.
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3504266,-71.1094145,3a,75y,271.2h,77.84t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sqOGnYfvnt1II6uGstzhFYA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Whoa... lookit that prominent sign: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3607959,-71.1182341,3a,75y,64.18h,72.98t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s6LYdVotZUKBCPExDTpmFXQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
I disagree on inbound from Univ Ave
Once you make that right, you're still not committed to getting on Storrow. To wit:
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3512918,-71.1095262,3a,79.4y,52.54h,89.28t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sKuNfPACpFefx6gBKiHEFQA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
You see the CARS ONLY sign and you break. Immediately. Where to turn? Turn right into Bay State road. It looks like a parking lot at that point. But it's one way the other way you protest! Interestingly, it does not have a DO NOT ENTER sign or a ONE WAY sign there. It's not actually one way, it's a private alley. If the truck driver pulled in, he'd drive forward about 150 feet and then be able to make a 3 point turn to come back out and turn left onto University Rd to get back to Comm Ave.
If you're talking about the right turn onto Storrow inbound (I think it's actually Soldier's Field there, but I digress), trucks can make the right to service the hotel. There's one last turn-off just to the right of the CARS ONLY overhanging sign.
There's one last turn-off
Indeed, and it's not just for the hotel - that turnoff is also the entrance to Houghton Chemical, and a former entrance to Beacon Park Yard.
And I agree - the University Rd entrance is fine. Only change I can think of is you could theoretically put up a sign to the effect of "no thru trucks" at the turn from Comm Ave (or "no trucks - except BU deliveries"), but you can't outright prohibit trucks because that's an important access point to BU's "campus".
At last, somebody else out here gets it.
The signing entering Storrow Drive is woefully inadequate. And you can thank the "but it's a scenic parkway that must be preserved" crowd for that. A mentality that needs to just go away.
What needs to just go away
Storrow Drive needs to just go away.
And be replaced by...
...what?
A variety
Surface roads, car pooling, telecommuting, shifting work hours, and the MBTA.
It's more than a little absurd that 100s of acres of parkland are dedicated to roads when, at Charlesgate, the entire accessible park (5' wide) is cantilevered over the Charles River.
Worcester has a fool proof
Worcester has a fool proof design for this: Brosnihan Square, Worcester
I don't get it
What's that funny yellow sign with the numbers supposed to mean?
/sarcasm
Hmmm ...
No such thing as fool proof.
Any stats on hits before vs. after?
Note that several trucks and buses Storrowed after being dopesmacked on the windshield when entering the roadway.
It's brand new. No stats yet.
It's brand new. No stats yet.
That's the same principle as
That's the same principle as the rubber "CARS OLNY"* signs entering Storrow. If you hit the rubber flap, you'll hit the bridge.
I doubt using chains works any better, though maybe spelling out "IF YOU HIT THIS YOU WILL HIT THE BRIDGE!!!" might help a little. Doubt it though.
*[sic]
This is the same logic I've
This is the same logic I've learned as a software developer. Someone somewhere will find the right sequence of mouse clicks to crash your program. So make it as idiot-proof as possible, triple checks here and there.
If this keeps happening, then obviously the warning system set up on Storrow is inadequate.
Counterpoint
11foot8
If the problem is driver inattention, no amount of attention getting signage is going to change that.
The problem is the drivers navigating onto these roadways in the first place. Train drivers better . Revoke licenses. The drivers ARE the problem.
Where do the trucks get on Storrow?
Recognizing that there are a variety of ways to get on Storrow, is there one or a few particular entrances from which many of the trucks are entering? If so, is it possible to take an action at those entrances that might not be employed in other entrances.
Here is a streetview of a steel gate (decorated with wood) before Bull's Bridge in Connecticut. The gate is just smaller than the old covered bridge -- if the truck would have hit the bridge, it will hit the gate first -- causing damage to the gate, not the bridge itself.
Gating entrances in some clever manner could result in "storrowing" a truck not on Storrow, but on a well-designed entrance so that (a) other vehicles could get around the vehicle, and also (b) the speed would be lower, thereby reducing risk of injury and property damage.
I mean, this doesn't seem that hard.
Storrowings 365
Storrowings would be a great theme for a page-a-day calendar.