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Simultaneous backups of shame on both sides of the river
By adamg on Tue, 10/24/2023 - 9:38am
Bikeyface, who, as her name suggests, rides a bike, reports on her commute across the Charles this morning:
On the way to work, I saw a large truck turn right from Mass Ave onto Memorial Drive and hit the “Cars Only” sign. They stopped after someone flagged them down. I thought about staying to watch the backup of shame for funsies, but I was running late. But when I got across the bridge to the Storrow Drive side, I could see a bunch of staties helping another truck do the backup of shame there. So I didn’t miss out after all!
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Comments
I think her name just
I think her name just suggests that her face is a bike.
Could also go both ways
And then her face is a key.
It's a nickname
Her real name is Bikey McBikeface.
clearly
cleary drivers are ignoring those 'cars only' signs.
This is happening more and more and its not even labor day.
a swing and a miss
FTFY
"Cars only? As opposed to what, horses?"
"Well, I'm not riding a horse, so I must be fine."
Video evidence
of said misinterpretation
FWIW
Yesterday too -- the MSP blocked traffic at the Doubletree while a dump truck sung the beep of shame song from the RR bridge.
I'm forever curious if the driver saw the signs and assumed they were just a suggestion or was too busy looking at their phone to even see signs.
I normally see an over-height vehicle every 2-3 weeks but recently it's been weekly.
Thats where I am at too
This is happening far too often these days.
I think people are looking at their phones or are 100% pay attention to GPS only (which is usually wrong)
Does MSP ticket for this? Or just help them get off the road? Maybe if we started ticketing for this.. not pay attention to the signs... people might listen.
But that would require MSP to dole out tickets.. and we know that isnt happening.
Just being cheap
And using free GPS on their phones rather than a dedicated unit which takes into account the height/length/weight of their truck as well as any published restrictions (like bridge heights or max weights for bridges).
Using the wrong kind of GPS to navigate while driving a vehicle over a certain size/weight should probably get you a fine, period.
It's not even about cheapness
I'm sure there are some great professional GPS apps for truck drivers, but there are also some free ones that are decent. I know this because I downloaded one when my wife and I drove a UHaul truck down to New York to move our daughter. We assumed there would be some roads in Manhattan (such as their river roads) that would be similarly height restrictive and wanted to be sure our route didn't cause an FDRing or whatever the New York term might be. The app did indeed warn us off of those obvious roads, but there were some others we wouldn't have anticipated involving low overpasses. Truck drivers, even temporary truck drivers, need to not use Google maps.
On the bright side …
… at least they are hitting signs not pedestrians, cyclists or other road users.
Low bar
It's a low bar, pun intended, but yes!