I was amused to see this report of a bridge mishap in Wisconsin.
Door County authorities are trying to figure out how a motorist ended up near the top of the east arm of the Maple-Oregon Bridge across Sturgeon Bay after the arms of the drawbridge were lifted to a 45-degree angle.
The incident happened about 6 p.m. Thursday, but police didn't learn about it until after news reporters began calling to confirm the authenticity of the photos, Porter said.
"At first we thought someone was just playing around with Photoshop," Porter said. "It really is amazing."
"It appears to be human error," Porter said.
Police said they were hoping that the motorist will contact them.
"She's not in any trouble," Porter said. "We just want to talk to her and find out how this happened so we can make sure that it doesn't happen again."
"I want to ask her what was going through her mind and how hard she had that brake pushed down."
There's more at the link.
I had to laugh at that last comment by the police spokesperson. Well, just how hard d'you think she was pushing that brake pedal, dummy? I'd have been ramming it through the floor! And as for what was going through her mind . . . I suspect it was something like "AAAAAAH!"
Peter
5 comments:
And inbetween the panicking and general freaking-out, I HOPE one real thought crossed that driver's mind: "next time, I will NOT try to beat the bridge-raising! Next time, no matter how late I'm running, I WILL stop and wait where I was warned to!"
Wonder how many times they'd thought it was fun to raise through train crossings, too.....
RACE train crossings, darn it: RACE train crossings!
A retired railroader here, 41 years. There are real people in the cab of that first engine. They do not want to go home thinking about the close calls they have had. When a train hits a car or truck the train wins every time.
Wouldn't it have been pretty simple to merely coast to the bottom *before* the bridge was fully raised?
But no; instead, she panics, locks the brakes and sits up there waiting for them to lower it.
Doofus!
Jon B.
Looks like the scene in The Blues Brothers where Jake and Elwood jump the bridge in their ex-police cruiser. Driver had second thoughts, maybe?
Archie
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