11' foot 8" strikes again!

[snooper2]

Even with the new sign idiots still providing us entertainment!

[Achilleaze]

1. This is a freaking metaphor for where the Republicans are driving America

...away from sobriety, common sense, decency and wisdom - and toward stupid, unconscious, arrogant, a-holish BRIDGES OF DOOM.

[hunter]

4. Not believing in the 11'8" bridge will make it go away... Same as global warming, right?

And if you are wealthy it is because God loves you, never because you're an asshole who has abused workers, polluted the environment, cheated suppliers, manipulated markets, bribed government officials, and never paid you're fair share of taxes...

[rurallib]

13. Then they take it back to the rental place

and blame them for renting them a defective truck.

[brush]

14. Heehee! Seriously though, I hope they signed on for the insurance.

[rurallib]

15. you mean the Republicans? I doubt any insurance company would insure them

with their record

[brush]

17. Huh? What do Republicans have to do with it. I'm talking insurance from the rental company . . .

for damage to the truck.

[rurallib]

18. oh sorry i was getting silly with my analogy

When someone said it was an analogy for Republicans running the country, one trick Rpublicans always pull is to blame anyone else after they break programs or claim it was screwed up when they got it.

So when you said I hope they had insurance, I flipped it back to Republicans (in my mind) trying to get insurance on a government they were about to break. But who would insure them given their track record.

It was funny as hell in my mind

[malaise]

28. Hilarious

[Johnathan146]

20. Box truck insurance usually doesnt cover roof damage

Its a seperate policy that most people do not sign up for.

[brush]

21. Guess that driver is out of luck then. That's going to be a big bill.

[brush]

2. You'd think the town would have done something about this overpass by now

A bigger sign perhaps to warn truck drivers. I mean a HUGE sign instead of that little orange thing.

They know it's a problem. I've seen many videos of this happening.

[snooper2]

3. They did- The UUGE sign that actual says OVERHEIGHT MUST TURN - automated sign

Comes on before the stop light when it detects a truck too high... See it at 27 second in the video. I love how when truck goes through and it just shuts off like, well, I tried



but- people -are -stupid

[brush]

5. Good try. I didn't see that. Maybe a huge, non-automated sign as well on the bridge . . .

that a driver can't miss would also help.

[backscatter712]

43. What they need is one of these...

[DemocratSinceBirth]

6. I have a silly question.

How is the driver supposed to navigate it. He just can't make a U Turn on a highway.

[snooper2]

9. They can make a left turn right at the light

[geomon666]

10. He could've made a left.

It's better than sheering the roof of the truck. But, then we wouldn't have videos like this. 11 foot 8 always makes me feel better.

[Mariana]

23. There's a very low bridge in a neighboring town

on a small two lane road. When a truck driver is in a place where he can't turn to avoid the bridge and has to stop, he calls the police and they send out officers to deal with the traffic so he can reverse safely.

[struggle4progress]

33. It's not a highway, and there's a cross-street there with a traffic light

[randome]

8. Next line of defense: shooting out the tires of trucks that get too close! We have the technology!

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[rurallib]

12. many places have put up chains well before the bridges

that are 11' 8". If the truck rattles the chains they are supposed to turn.
Don't know if anyone pays attention.

[MADem]

24. Or signs....

[rurallib]

25. surprised those signs haven't been hit a few times

[jberryhill]

26. Check out the site

They've tried a bunch of stuff.

The 11foot8 bridge is invincible.

[csziggy]

56. This video shows the new warning system in place

But a truck driver ignored it:

Text at YouTube for this video:

Published on Jul 7, 2016

In May, the Dept. of Transportation installed a very nice LED blank-out warning sign at the 11foot8 bridge.The new sign is combined with a traffic light that stops traffic when an overheight truck approaches. Yet, when the bridge is hungry, it will eat. Watch as the canopener lures in an unsuspecting moving truck and chews up the roof.

[brush]

57. They tried but that sign should be bigger, red, lower down on the bridge facing . . .

to catch the driver's eye with flashing yellow caution lights and "Higher than 11.8 feet must turn" in big letters.

Should be permanent too, not just when the traffic light turns green.

[csziggy]

59. If you look at the 11foot8.com site and watch the earlier videos

There used to be a wide sign with flashing lights - but the truck drivers ignored it, too.

[brush]

60. Amateurs I'm guessing. The videos I've seen seem to be rental trucks.

Haven't visited the site but are most of the crashing trucks rentals?

I think professional truckers have books and probably apps by now that warn them of low bridges all over the country.

[csziggy]

61. There are also professional drivers driving under - log trucks,moving trucks and others

Yes many are rental trucks or travel trailers but not all. I have a certain perverse satisfaction watching travel trailer roof top air conditioning units getting scraped off.

Here is a compilation from 2008 to 2013 of truck crashes under the bridge - lots of unmarked box trucks, quite a few rentals but a broad spectrum of different kinds:

[brush]

62. God! They built that bridge low but they sure built it strong.

That's lost of big impacts over many years and that bridge hasn't budged.

[Nac Mac Feegle]

67. They really can't do anything about it

I was reading an article about it, and they can't raise the railroad without a MASSIVE amount of cash, and they can't lower the road because of utilities (power, water, communications, gas, etc...) buried underneath it. It's theoretically possible, but it would take a LOT of money.

If they did that, it would deprive a lot of people of a wonderful source of entertainment.

[brush]

69. Heehee! You are so right.

[randome]

7. I don't think the bridge exists. It's all CGI to make us BELIEVE it's happening!

Well, it's a theory.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[struggle4progress]

36. It exists: I've seen it myself with my very own little beady eyes!

[cwydro]

11. Years ago, I drove school buses up and down the Keys to get them to their respective schools.

Had the bright idea to go to a KFC drive-thru in Key West.

Took the entire sign down. Key West is a small town, so I knew everyone, and soon everyone knew what I did.

I've never forgotten that lol.

[FSogol]

16. That's two this month so far.

Last edited Wed Dec 14, 2016, 01:13 PM - Edit history (1)

[Adsos Letter]

19. Scratch one flat top! n/t

[11 Bravo]

50. They should name that bridge "Midway".

[Buns_of_Fire]

22. The most entertaining bridge in America!

I think it should have its own reality TV show.

[NCTraveler]

27. I shouldn't find this as amusing as I do. Nt

[briv1016]

29. Since when do traffic cameras have audio?

[ManiacJoe]

39. Pretty sure the camera is private, purposely for the website.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

30. There should be clowns stationed nearby to sweep away the debris.

Like Chris Farley as "Sandman" on SNL:
http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/episode-5-pictured-jimmy-smits-chris-farley-as-sandman-chris-rock-as-picture-id138464785

[struggle4progress]

31. "They never actually enforce those height restrictions with VIPs like me!"

[Buckeye_Democrat]

32. Lol!

I can easily imagine Trump doing that if he wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

[3catwoman3]

53. And a golden...

...head up his ass.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

34. Since I have never rented any sort of truck,

do the rental companies make it crystal clear just how high your truck is when you rent it?

I'd like to think I'd get than information and then be hyper aware of height signs as I'm driving, but don't know if I actually would.

[struggle4progress]

37. They not only make THAT crystal clear, they also make crystal clear that YOU'RE gonna pay

if you scrape the top off

[HassleCat]

35. Why do we still have low bridges?

Well, we still have the death penalty, so we're lagging in more than one area.

[struggle4progress]

38. "We should just pass a law decreeing all bridges are 12 foot 6!"

[HassleCat]

40. Or all vehicles are eleven feet.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

41. Eleven feet eight inches is a low bridge?

Really?

[HassleCat]

42. Definitely. Trucks are tall.

Thirteen-six is common, and some states allow fourteen.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

45. Okay. I'll defer to you, since I know so little on this topic.

But the essential point is that anyone driving a truck should be VERY aware of how tall it is, and should be paying a lot of attention to signs telling the clearance of any upcoming bridge.

[HassleCat]

46. In the old days, they had a book.

It showed all the low bridges in the country. Drivers could check their routes and plan accordingly. Most drivers now have truck-specific GPS, which shows low bridges, narrow streets, and so on.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

55. That's even more interesting.

I don't use a GPS, even though I know how great they can be. I'm fond of old-fashioned maps myself, in part because I'm a very visual person. Whenever I'm setting off to someplace new I'll look at Google Maps, plot my route, make some notes for myself that might read something like:
Take Hwy 17 to Hwy 45, left on Brown Blvd.

Works for me.

[HassleCat]

64. I want to program mine to say stuff like

"Hey, dumbass! You're off course again!"

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

66. LOL!

Whenever I'm in a car with GPS giving verbal directions, I've been quite amazed at the patience of the program. You make a wrong turn or overshoot the target, and it will say, "Recalculating . . ." and then a bit later give new directions.

Were I programming those things, I'd give the driver, three, at the most four chances to follow directions, then I'd have the voice say: "If you're going to ignore me, then you're on your own." And then when you turn it back on, it will say, somewhat snottily, "Are you going to listen to me NOW?"

Perhaps it's just as well I'm not in charge of such things.

[HassleCat]

68. I know a guy who changed from the female voice to male voice.

When his wife asked him why, he said, "Honey, yours is the only female voice that's allowed to tell me what to do."

[backscatter712]

44. The Can Opener is unique...

It's owned by the railroad, and they're not spending the money to rebuild the bridge.

There's also a sewer main just below the road, so lowering the roadway below the bridge is also too expensive.

Also there's a cross street juuuuust before the bridge, that, yes, is used by big trucks including overheight trucks. Truck drivers with brains make deliveries in the area, and know to turn so they don't become the next victim of the Can Opener.

So they can't rebuild the bridge or lower the road, they can't use "If you hit this sign, you will hit that bridge" signs because they would damage legitimate truck traffic that turns just before the bridge.

I think the water-curtain sign I posted above might be a good idea - the water won't hurt vehicles, the sign could be a great big stop sign, or a "OVERHEIGHT TRUCKS MUST TURN" sign, and legitimate cars can just drive right through it.

[3catwoman3]

54. Why can't they use the...

..."If you hit this sign" sign?

[backscatter712]

63. There's legitimate truck traffic that turns at the cross street just before the bridge.

[area51]

47. I thought 11'8" was low until I found this pdf.

Low Clearance Bridges.

[ret5hd]

52. I guess everything IS bigger in Texas!

I see no low clearance bridges there.

[Warren DeMontague]

48. I like that bridge way too much.

[csziggy]

58. They sell momentos!

You can buy crash art - rolled up bits of the trucks that attempted to drive under the bridge. There are T-shirts, warning lights and signs, too.

https://squareup.com/store/11foot8-dot-com/

[Warren DeMontague]

65. The Perfect Gift!

Seriously, they should put up a big art piece/billboard on the side of that thing that is like a giant Terry Gilliam-type cartoon head-



Where the bottom of the row of teeth is the side of the bridge.

[CanSocDem]

49. Rental trucks are driven by...

...car drivers, in most cases. Nobody I know expects 'car drivers' to pay attention to things like warning signs.


.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

70. An important point.

Even if the contract states the height of the truck, someone who normally drives a car, even a large SUV, still isn't driving a truck that is more than 12 feet high.

Personally, I discourage someone who is moving from renting a truck and driving across country. They just have no experience with a large truck, and if they're towing their car behind, then lookout Molly! Personally, I think that hiring a professional moving company is more than worth it.

A few years ago my younger son was moving half way across the country (from the Kansas City area to Portland, OR) and he initially planned to rent a truck and do it himself. I knew that as Mom if I suggested he shouldn't do that, I'd be dismissed. I was VERY happy when he decided to hire a mover.

More recently his older son moved from Kansas City to Springfield, MO, and hired a moving company. We did all the packing, but it was so nice to have others do the heavy lifting. As it turned out, the same guys that loaded the truck in KC unloaded it in Springfield, which meant (among other things) that they knew where things were on the truck. The loading and unloading went extremely well.

I honestly believe that hiring professionals is the best way to go.

[RKP5637]

51. Yep, a Trump voter!!! n/t