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Driver side-storrows his 18-wheeler at narrow Charlestown intersection
By adamg on Mon, 06/21/2021 - 8:54pm
For some reason, the driver of an 18-wheeler in Charlestown decided this afternoon it made sense to turn left from High Street onto School Street, even though it's a narrow, steep, one-way street - marked with a sign reading "NO TRUCKS OVER 2 1/2 TON CAP." He decided unwisely, which he realized when his truck quickly got wedged into the intersection, as a roving UHub photographer shows us.
Michael Scott captured the rear end of the stuck trailer, which at least didn't take down any poles or houses or crush any cars.
He also got a shot that included the sign:
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Comments
Before this even happens the
Before this even happens the calm monotone female voice in all GPS sysems should stop and have a screaming warning voice like Johnny Most kick in and take over!!!
I'd tune it out
You could never understand what he was screaming about anyway. And his voice was irritating in the extreme.
Is that you , magoo
Is that you , magoo
WTF ...
was he doing on High Street?? (Never mind the turn)
Well, this turn isn't allowed
Well, this turn isn't allowed. But if they kept going, High Street itself has a truck ban: https://goo.gl/maps/rY9DSA9U5nCZZymQA
If they came from Adams Street, there is a no-trucks sign, plus a sign directing trucks and buses to turn left (though it's nonstandard). https://goo.gl/maps/2W7Bq8TSR5U3VdGQ7
A truck could take Bunker Hill Street to Concord Street without passing a no-trucks sign, though that would involve some tight turns. https://goo.gl/maps/QKKDec2Tz8LKmxSMA
It would help if the signs were more prominent, and explained that it's not just residents who don't like the noise -- trucks will get stuck in the tiny streets.
Sadly, incidents like this are partially a consequence
of when municipalities post truck restrictions that are not based on height restrictions or other physical characteristics of the roadway that preclude large vehicles from safely using them (which is not the case here), but are posted solely for the convenience of the abutters who detest truck traffic. It's the "cry wolf" syndrome in action. If truckers encounter enough "phony" truck restrictions and get away with ignoring them, they are far less likely to pay attention to the legitimate ones.
Not justifying the driver's actions here, but merely pointing out that situations are not always as simple as they may seem at first.
Many of those streets have
Many of those streets have reasons beyond smallness. I grew up on soft land that they then put houses on. Not exactly ideal and sometimes it was visible when the roadways would dip but to an outside observer it seemed fine. So we had those signs all over the place. We also happened to be near a shopping plaza and an industrial zone so ended up with trucks going through all the time.
What they did not see was the damage these trucks were causing to the roads, some of the foundations and the fact that you could feel it like a freight train when a particularly heavy and fast truck came blowing through the neighborhood.
There was no reason for them to be on those streets but because they did not see the immediate danger they drove on them anyway. I am sure they thought we were a bunch of jerks when people would yell and scream at them as they drove by ignoring the signs. I am also sure people like you thought it was just because we did not like trucks. I do not say this to belittle you or insult you but rather giving you one of the reasons why these signs are up that may not be obvious.
Sadly, you need to wake up
The world isn't about TRUCKS BEING OH SO SUPER DUPER SPECIAL or LOTS OF GIANT FUCKING SIGNS that these idiots would ignore anyway.
Grow up, wake up, and wise up: you can't fix stupid with GIANT FUCKING SIGNS.
Trucking companies should be fined if these incidents occur and their trucks lack a professional GPS system. PERIOD. They only cost a couple hundred dollars per truck.
Start fining the living bejesus out of these jackass trucking companies whenever this happens and things will improve quickly.
Translation
Translation: "Won't somebody think of the poor trucks?"
Can we please hear again from
Can we please hear again from those who keep insisting that 18 wheelers belong on city streets because there is absolutely no other alternative to getting goods delivered to residents?
well, obviously...
...it's the street's fault, because what is a narrow one-way street doing in a city in the first place?
(This is sarcasm, of course.)
If you're a narrow, one-way
If you're a narrow, one-way street in an old neighborhood, you've got to understand that trucks are going to get stuck on you...
Believe it or not
They actually make smaller scale delivery trucks. I see them every single day in Provincetown, which has streets and lanes that are too narrow even for cars.
Boston too
Beacon Hill has turns that match the North End. The small stores on Myrtle St have to get their deliveries using city scale trucks.
This guy seemed lost.
Even Amazon Prime
has figured that one out.
Big difference....
...between cardboard boxes that weigh nothing and pallets of beer. But, you knew that.
I have no idea what this truck was carrying, but everybody seems to think that everything can be handled by a Sprinter van. It can't.
Not a problem in other cities.
Why here?
I guess because it would mean more jobs and a safer city.
There's a middle ground
What cities have restrictions and what specifically are those restrictions?
Yes, you don't need a semi, but a decently sized box truck would do the trick in most cases. It all comes down to capacity and Sprinter vans don't cut it, being built on a 1-ton truck capacity.
Obviously 18-wheelers shouldn
Obviously 18-wheelers shouldn't use streets where they get physically stuck.
Where are you proposing they be banned from? Any place called "City of ..."?
Considering the damage they do to roads
I'd say "oh hell yeah".
There should be large readable signs that indicate that.
There should be large, readable signs, which indicate that trucks that are over a certain size should not be on such narrow streets, that have such sharp corners.
Should they close down supermarkets?
Methinks the Whole Foods that used to be Johnny’s Foodmaster wouldn’t survive if they could only get deliveries using bicycles or whatever your suggestion is.
18 wheelers are okay on Main, Bunker Hill, and Austin Streets. You may not want to see what kind of businesses use Medford Street. That said, no reason for that truck to be driving down the residential streets of Charlestown.
Tops the RV in the North End
https://twitter.com/onlyinbos/status/1406937571414921224
GIVE ME 40 ACRES
GIVE ME 40 ACRES by THE WILLIS BROTHERS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDxVJ471hyg