Railroad Bridge with a Kill Scorecard

The Loveland Bridge in Loveland, Ohio

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I wonder if i it’s real…The scoreboard I mean.

More on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/TheLovelandBridge/photos

Another one

The answer is no…

H.P.

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Not, but someone should do a decal for it anyway.

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The 11 foot 8 (+8) bridge has its own website for the crash videos. Still eating overoptimistic (or unobservant) vehicles even after finally being raised.

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There are plenty of warnings, including one novel one:

It looks like the Googlemobile wouldn’t even risk it as Streetview stops on either side.

I like the 11’8" + 8 bridge in North Carolina where the railroad placed a heavy decapitator beam in front of the bridge. People still complain on various forums: “Why doesn’t somebody DO something!” Remove the bridge, lower the street, add some sort of automated crossing gate, station a traffic cop there, pretty much anything BUT “Drivers should pay more attention.” Somebody, perhaps the state highway engineer, said. “As far as the railroad (the owner of the bridge) is concerned, the problem is solved because the crash beam prevents the bridge from damage. The people wrecking their vehicles are not their responsibility or concern.”

People don’t realize that in the US the railroads often pre-dated the roads and the highways cross them or go over and above them only with the railroad’s permission. If they had their druthers the railroads truly could “solve” the problem of vehicle collisions - by placing concrete blocks on the roads on either side of their property and digging up the paving in between.

Here’s an example near me where a troublesome grade crossing was removed but only after threats to immediately close it unless the state built an overpass into the industries behind the camera.

The road used to cross the tracks and continue to the street beyond. Note the memorial to one of several people killed there. (BTW, if you go off the designated road and walkways at crossings the railroads - and the law - considers you to be “trespassers” with very little liability on the railroad’s part. They even file the accident reports as “trespassers”, not pedestrians, killed and injured.) There was one wreck where a drunk idiot was crossing from this side to the farside and decided to play matador with an oncoming train. The engineer dumped the brakes and it stopped so quickly that the consist of empty hopper cars derailed.

KL

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I was told to pay attention and be prepared for cases such as
the driver in the car ahead has a heart attack, his/her car engine
seizes or lightning strikes the car.

It is or was called “Driving Defensively”, recognizing where accidents are likely to happen and to be prepared for something happening. Unlike Sweden, we were told to focus on intersections, exit/entry ramps, construction zones, stopped traffic, and high traffic areas rather than diluting our attention with worrying about meteor impacts, nuclear plant meltdowns, or other improbable events.

A good example of focusing on the improbable at the expense of the likely was a girl in my driver training class who said she would not wear a seat belt because, “What if I’m in an accident and get knocked unconscious and the car catches fire? The buckle could jam and I wouldn’t be able to get out.”

If you watch the “idiots in cars” genre on YouTube you’ll note that driving defensively is unknown in many cases (e.g. approaching congested shopping areas but not slowing down) and people’s first instinct is to swerve wildly into other traffic or barriers when an obstruction appears rather than staying in the lane and applying the brakes.

KL

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It was more of an example about always being prepared and not relaxing in
situations that seem safe. The other examples you listed are obviously always
included.
Near my home a two lane freeway (maybe not exactly the same as the US freeway)
merges into another three lane freeway. The designers saw fit to squeeze both lanes
into a single access ramp. “Smart” drivers use the left hand lane to bypass the cars
queuing in the right lane. The queue is caused by the “smart” drivers in the left lane trying to merge into the right lane as late as possible to gain a few positions more.
If they had merged earlier the whole queue would have moved faster.
The critical area
Accidents will happen …

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Was real active in 2019 but got another one this year.

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Height warning signs aren’t worth a hill of beans unless the driver actually knows their vehicle height. … And then…

https://youtu.be/DHrlFqLs1-w?si=RoUWAQLyGV2Djxpk

https://youtu.be/Cme3hx8VVZo?si=AkXORTYDmoSlEM0g

:rofl:

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The underpass couldn’t be lowered because of piping and cables under the road; the bridge is on a rail line that is impossible to reroute without expending absurd amounts of money and exercising eminent domain over a huge swathe of land. Raising it required years of planning to keep the grade to a value that the trains could handle, and the grade changes extended a considerable distance either side of the bridge. And it’s not just the ‘decapitator beam’; that’s just there to keep the bridge from being damaged if a sufficiently tough vehicle attempts to ignore the warning — there are sensors and flashing red lights and a warning sign that lights up when an overheight vehicle is detected; basically, you have to be pretty oblivious to miss everything that lights up and flashes when you approach.

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That’s the same difference of my pet peeve about people who build housing communities next to airports and then scream and whine and moan about airplane noise.

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In the last city I lived in, the people that had bought their homes next to the railroad tracks, that ran through the east side of town, got together and filed a lawsuit against the railroad due to how loud the train horns were. The trains were required to sound their horns when approaching the railroad crossings and there are three crossings real close to each other in that area. Idiots. Bought their homes next to the railroad tracks and then complained about noise from the trains.

Derp GIFs | Tenor

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Close down the crossings permanently and let the homeowners take a longer route
(detour) to get to a non level crossing …

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It’s called paying attention to what you are doing and not the stupid cell phone! When driving, you should be paying attention to what you are doing and your surroundings not messing with electronics. The auto makers have some responsibility as well as they put a lot of stuff in the new cars that takes your attention away from the task at hand.

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Those of us who ride / used to ride motorbikes tend to know a bit about defensive driving🙄

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Especially when riding a suicide shift! Wayne

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Thanks for the learning experience
:+1: :smiley:
Since I’m not a motorcycle rider, or ever intend to be, I had to look it up

Sorry, should have explained better. On the older Harleys they had a foot clutch where the pedal was like a rocker. When you rock it up it disengages. It is supposed to stay in that position, so you can put your foot down and then rock it back when you take off. Unfortunately the vibration would sometimes cause it to come down by itself, sending you shooting into traffic! Hence the name suicide! Wayne

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Mine is a modified version, which means you have to put it in neutral when you stop so you can put your foot down, always tricky in an emergency, like an idiot cutting you off in traffic. Note the clutch pedal and doorknob shifter. Wayne

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