Witnessed Acts of Human Stupidity...Or, Here's Your Sign...

[Dalmatian90]

Well tonite I'm leaving Worcester after going to my sister's for dinner. Not late at all, just a bit past 7:00 pm.

And I'm following a tractor trailer truck that turns off Chandler and heads south on Southbridge (too which anyone from Worcester now knows the inevitable conclusion to his trip...)

Big sign says, "Low Clearance 12' 9" "

At the STOPLIGHT there is even a sign that directs traffic headed to I-290 to take a left...

But, alas, no.

Looking straight ahead at a bridge 300' away from the stoplight where stopped at, the truck driver takes off on green. You know, the Providence & Worcester Railroad bridge on Southbridge Street -- with the big yellow sign on it "Max. Height 12' 9" "

I ease just ahead of the intersection, now realizing the driver isn't slowing down thinking, "This is going to be interesting."

And yes, the trailer was a standard height 13' 6" box trailer. Was.

Matt

[nomad1085]

I've never actually seen a truck hit a bridge, but I'm sure it would be pretty amusing. It's not like they don't make it obvious of the low height.

Matt

[CollegeBuff]

Dumb.

Yeah Matt, I think I know where that is. Did you stick around at all for the aftermath?

One interesting story this brings back for me is the winter a city sander truck in my hometown got stuck under a bridge. He'd tipped the dump back to let the sand fall towards the spreader as it approached the end of the load. Then he gets on Route 10. Then he goes under the bridge right before 95.....

The dump stopped, but not the cab. It kept going until the dump was almpst vertical from the road to the underside of the bridge. And there's the poor sap of a driver, stuck in the cab almost 10 feet off the ground.

[EMT_Wub]

This one may qualify under Here's your sign or for a Darwin Award. I was called to a single vehicle accident, with the car having been driven down a very steep hill in an attempt at suicide. Pulled up on scene, and the guy was walking around, got up in the rig, refusing immobilization, ALS, or anything. Oh and in police custody. Seems the guy had caught his signigicant other in bed with another guy, and wanted to end it all. Only problem was, he forgot to unbuckle the seatbelt.

Candidate for Natural Selection

[sloepoke1]

DAlmation90
Did you stick around to ask the driver how long he/she had been driving for the day, or how long it had been since their last sleep break? As a trucker by trade I know that one can become easily confused if one does not get proper rest. NO I am not defending this driver as this sounds like a stupid mistake but it happens. You must understand how much pressure are on the drivers of today to get the loads to their destinations on time or else. Some companies will not pay for the load as a penalty for being late and with the economy today no one can afford that. Also if a driver is that confused and tired he/she should just pull over and get some rest although some don't and the rest of us drivers have to put up with the reputation this gives the whole industry. Like I said earlier I am not defending this driver, if he/she was driving illegally then they should be cited and shut down until they get the required rest to operate their truck safely and legally.

Sorry got on my high horse but I am really big on trucker safety as I am a trucker by trade and don't want anyone to get hurt or worse because of some stupid a*&hole that can't do his/her job legally.

Now for my, most recent, stupid story.
We were dispatched to a mva that had power lines down at 12 midnight. Upon arrival we found that the county police officer had parked his vehicle within 5 feet of the downed lines and was walking around and over them, not knowing if they were still hot or not.They was but that is only part one. We had a unit to go through the field to get around the power lines and pull across both lanes of traffic and another to do the same on the other side of the scene to wait for the electric company to arrive and do their thing. While waiting we was standing next to another officers car talking when a car went off the road into someone's yard around the truck blocking the road so he could go on home. He stopped after running over the electric lines and shorting out the cars computer. Not only did he have to completely replace the computer system in the car but the officer cited him for disregarding an emergency vehicle, no tail lights, missing one headlight, and no seat belt. Oh yeah while he was waiting for a tow we just had to make him a sign and gave it to him.

[Eng522ine]

I can think quite a few stories about people that are still alive today because of "dumb luck." Here's 2 of the one's that I found pretty funny.

1) Midday on a Saturday and we get banged out for a confirmed working vehicle fire on one of the state highways that we cover. Upon our arrival we found a minivan packed to the gills with junk, complete with U-haul trailer (similarly packed), parked nicely in the entrance to a gas station fully involved. Needless to say, this alone would qualify the driver for a "Darwin Award," but to really put the icing on the cake, he stopped a mere 25 feet from the tanker pumping fuel into the stations fuel tanks. After we knocked the fire down, the chief asked the driver why in the hell he pulled into a gas station with his van on fire. The driver responded with "Well, where else was I gonna find a phone?"

2) Two weeks after the previous driver received his nomination to the Jackass Hall of Fame, we meet another fool with a vehicle he thought would look better if it was a tad crispier around the edges. This fine citizen was returning home to New York City from a weekend in Pennsylvania with his wife and children. They decided to stop and have a roadside BBQ on a charcoal grill they had just bought. After they had their meal, they dumped the coals (God only knows where THEY ended up) and threw the grill back into the box and in the trunk. Yep, you know what's coming! About 15 miles down the highway Mr. Perceptive decided to pull over and find out why everyone was beeping and waving at him as they passed him. The funniest part is even after we put out the fire, he couldn't understand how the fire started. Here's your sign.

Be safe all.

[dvfd48r6]

5:00 am on a icy morning the tones come through for a MVA-rollover. We arrive on scene to find a male who signed off on transport. While helping to roll the Chevy blazer back on it wheels I noticed his tires were worn down to slicks. I pointed them out to the owner and he replied "Oh, it's ok I have four wheel drive"

[Eng522ine]

DVFD... might I make a suggestion for the cause of the accident? How about "loose nut between steering wheel and driver's seat"???

[dvfd48r6]

ENG522INE
I've been told that was the diagnosis when the truck I operate was sent in for service. On a side note we had a second truck roll in almost the same spot who was "Only going 50" in his chevy one ton around a sharp slick corner. What was that forum about haunted calls?

[kvfdlife]

1. Female set car on fire checking gas tank with match because gas gauge did not work.
2. Female set car on fire trying to go up hill on ice and snow (kept spinning tires till they ignited)
3. Female tried to commit suicide in gas oven, forgot to blow out pilot light and set hair on fire.

[RJE]

This is old, but....

Way back when I was in the navy, had a guy that didn't like his computer being on his desk, so he stood it up underneath, like the (then) new towers. And crashed the (then) 20Mb hard drive that cost $600+ to replace (hey, this was in 1989, right!).

So we (I worked info services att) got him a new hard drive and tower case and reloaded everything. Now it "goes black" every few minutes. He's kicking the power cord out the back! After a month or so we had pity and told him what he was doing.

Next day they're calling out the flying squad for class "C" fire in his office. I'm on the squad, so... I get there and his computer is now MOUNTED to the wall. With a 6" BOLT! Through the CENTER of the case. Yep, the "arcing and sparking" call was for when the bolt shorted out the motherboard when he turned it on, and melted the whole thing.

And the real kicker? This guy was the ship's ENGINEER!?!

[J.E.Beall]

Come on fellas, we've all run atleast a dozen "fire place ashes" in the plastic bucket on the back porch or better yet in the garage.......

[Dalmatian90]

In the garage? In a plastic bucket?

Try in a cardboard box, in the basement!

Fortunately for the homeowner, they had a CO alarm that sounded before the slowly smouldering box ignited!

[RJE]

Or...

In a paper grocery sack, outside, but AGAINST the unpainted cedar shingles. Only it gets better.

The bag DID catch, and the shingles did, too. About 4-5 w/charred edges.

And the really embarrassing part? My step-mom. Who's husband was the station captain (at the time) for the first due engine!

She didn't call 911, though. Put it out with the garden hose. Interesting conversation when HE got home, though!

[Jim M.]

In a plastic bucket.....
On the cement floor in the finshed playroom next to the overstuffed chair.....
igniton.....
pick up the flaming bucket dripping molten plastic and flaming ashes, inhaling poisonous fumes, not calling for help until you start coughing up blood....

Yeah, we've seen that. And the homeowner was very ****ed when we took the time to put on SCBA's before opening the windows and starting PPV fan.

[This message has been edited by Jim M. (edited 04-06-2001).]