The bridge

We live a few dozen feet from a railroad underpass. Two of them actually, but one is on our street and one a street over, but still visible from my house and within earshot. Both of them get hit regularly by trucks that are too high to get underneath them.

Recently the one closest to us was hit, again, which is less common in the winter than it is in the summer for some reason. Simply the difference in traffic volume I suppose. But it made us wonder how many times a year the bridge is actually hit. I would guess its more than a dozen if you include both bridges because sometimes in the warmer months it seems to happen about once a week. I'm sure its at least a dozen and possibly even more. Now these bridges are clearly marked with warning signs which state the clearance, but for various reasons they aren't heeded. Whenever it happens we know it instantly because the sound is unmistakable. Sometimes the truck actually gets to the other side, peeling back the top of the truck like a sardine can. But if they're too tall they can't do that and although I've seen entire sides bent back and the contents exposed, quite often only the front is badly damaged. Occasionally one becomes wedged beneath the span and it takes hours to get it out.

One might think stupidity has something to do with these accidents but that's not my impression. I think its usually distraction or ignorance. Many times the vehicles involved are rental trucks and the drivers simply inexperienced in driving something so large. Sometimes a different route was taken than normal and therefore confusion contributed to the disaster. And I've also seen instances where substitute drivers were behind the wheel or new vehicles were being driven. I always find myself sympathizing with the poor victims, who are usually in a state of shock.

Imagine what a jolt it would be to come to a sudden stop when driving 30 miles an hour down the road minding your own business!

The real answer to the problem is to raise the bridges of course. But it certainly would cut down on our entertainment around here...