Unique STOP signs stop truck drivers from entering tunnels in Sydney

[Zeffy]

(If this was posted before, sorry, I looked and didn't see anything on it.)

I came across this video while looking on MSNBC. This is a really cool concept, at least in my opinion. Basically, if a truck driver approaches a tunnel that have these installed (and they are oversized for the tunnel), a water curtain is projected down with a giant STOP sign on it. Definitely a futuristic looking device. Wonder if anywhere else will want to install these? Seems really helpful so the commute isn't completely destroyed if someone is not paying attention.

Here's a video showing how it works:

[Brian556]

Don't know how they can not see the LED VMS STOP signs. Many people who have low IQ's choose trucking as a career, and this is proof.

[hubcity]

That's honestly brilliant. (And with a bucket of water, I can claim to have added an Australian sign to my traffic control collection )

[KEK Inc.]

Don't know how they can not see the LED VMS STOP signs. Many people who have low IQ's choose trucking as a career, and this is proof.

That's not a fair assumption. 

[BamaZeus]

Let's say the driver doesn't notice until the very last water bucket sign, as it happened here.  Now he has to slam on his brakes, on a suddenly wet surface.   It looks like the water cascade only starts when he's within maybe 100 feet of the tunnel entrance, so is it really enough time for him to stop, if the driver is cruising along at 40-45 mph? 

[Zeffy]

Let's say the driver doesn't notice until the very last water bucket sign, as it happened here.  Now he has to slam on his brakes, on a suddenly wet surface.   It looks like the water cascade only starts when he's within maybe 100 feet of the tunnel entrance, so is it really enough time for him to stop, if the driver is cruising along at 40-45 mph?

Well, I'm not sure how you can miss the giant STOP VMS above the tunnel as well... him slamming on his brakes is probably better than him attempting to sneak into the tunnel and causing a major accident though.

[The High Plains Traveler]

I'm picturing as a last resort a giant Monty Python-esque boot that descends onto the truck at the last second, flattening it instantly.

[Compulov]

What I'm wondering... is the compliance from the water sign because it scares the crap out of them (ie, you don't expect something to suddenly appear in front of you while you're driving)? If they had advance sight of the sign would they ignore it? Are they ignoring the previous signs or not noticing them? I'm not sure which would bother me more... smug drivers thinking that signs don't apply to them (and risking lives because of it) or drivers so out of it that they miss at least TWO LARGE, BRIGHT, BLINKING SIGNS (which means they might miss other life-threatening situations).

Either way, that's a really cool (and practical!) use for a technology I always thought was kinda silly.

[Duke87]

Apparently most of the tunnels in Sydney have a clearance of 4.4 m, or about 14'5". This is not exactly "low". How are there so many trucks out there that exceed this height and how are they fitting under other overpasses?

[BamaZeus]

Let's say the driver doesn't notice until the very last water bucket sign, as it happened here.  Now he has to slam on his brakes, on a suddenly wet surface.   It looks like the water cascade only starts when he's within maybe 100 feet of the tunnel entrance, so is it really enough time for him to stop, if the driver is cruising along at 40-45 mph?

Well, I'm not sure how you can miss the giant STOP VMS above the tunnel as well... him slamming on his brakes is probably better than him attempting to sneak into the tunnel and causing a major accident though.

I definitely agree.  I'm referring to the actual physical stopping though.  It just doesn't appear to be a large distance between where you gain a visual on the water sign and the actual tunnel entrance.  Even if a driver slams on his brakes, we all know tractor trailers can't exactly stop on a dime, so I'm questioning whether it's enough distance to actually stop the truck in time.

The water cascade starts at :36 of the video, and it appears that although his brakes are already on by that point, he only has about the length of 2 trucks (maybe 100 ft?) to completely stop.

[cpzilliacus]

Apparently most of the tunnels in Sydney have a clearance of 4.4 m, or about 14'5". This is not exactly "low". How are there so many trucks out there that exceed this height and how are they fitting under other overpasses?

Maryland's Baltimore Harbor Tunnel (I-895) has signs posted that the overhead clearance is  13'6", which was probably  reasonable when the tunnel was being designed in the mid-1950's (it opened to traffic in 1957).

[deathtopumpkins]

I wonder how long before the DCR looks into this for the Storrow Drive tunnels...

[jeffandnicole]

You don't want to turn on the waterfall too early and scare the crap out of other drivers in cars that are about ready to go thru it.  If you were driving along in a car and suddenly a 10' tall Stop sign appeared in front of you, most likely you'd slam on the brakes, skid on the now wet roadway, and most likely crash into the tunnel wall.

If the truck drivers - who should already know their vehicle is over loaded to begin with - ignore the first 2 stop sign warnings and traffic lights, then they deserve to have to jam their brakes at the last second. 

[Zeffy]

You don't want to turn on the waterfall too early and scare the crap out of other drivers in cars that are about ready to go thru it.  If you were driving along in a car and suddenly a 10' tall Stop sign appeared in front of you, most likely you'd slam on the brakes, skid on the now wet roadway, and most likely crash into the tunnel wall.

If the truck drivers - who should already know their vehicle is over loaded to begin with - ignore the first 2 stop sign warnings and traffic lights, then they deserve to have to jam their brakes at the last second.

That, and they should have to suffer through the embarrassment of having everyone watch as you need to turn around at the entrance to the tunnel. 

[Alps]

And this is why many tunnels and low overpasses have installed steel bars in advance. If the bar starts shearing off part of your truck (and vice versa), that's a pretty good indicator to stop.

[1995hoo]

And this is why many tunnels and low overpasses have installed steel bars in advance. If the bar starts shearing off part of your truck (and vice versa), that's a pretty good indicator to stop.

Or that sign reading "If You Hit This Sign/You Will Hit That Bridge."

[Pete from Boston]

Let's say the driver doesn't notice until the very last water bucket sign, as it happened here.  Now he has to slam on his brakes, on a suddenly wet surface.   It looks like the water cascade only starts when he's within maybe 100 feet of the tunnel entrance, so is it really enough time for him to stop, if the driver is cruising along at 40-45 mph?

None of that would happen.  Australia's metric.

[NE2]

Measurement systems don't change reality.

[1995hoo]

Let's say the driver doesn't notice until the very last water bucket sign, as it happened here.  Now he has to slam on his brakes, on a suddenly wet surface.   It looks like the water cascade only starts when he's within maybe 100 feet of the tunnel entrance, so is it really enough time for him to stop, if the driver is cruising along at 40-45 mph?

None of that would happen.  Australia's metric.

Shades of ethanman62187.......

[Alps]

Let's say the driver doesn't notice until the very last water bucket sign, as it happened here.  Now he has to slam on his brakes, on a suddenly wet surface.   It looks like the water cascade only starts when he's within maybe 100 feet of the tunnel entrance, so is it really enough time for him to stop, if the driver is cruising along at 40-45 mph?

None of that would happen.  Australia's metric.

That's bloody brilliant, mate. Fancy a wallaby?

[Takumi]

Maybe they wouldn't need the signs if the drivers weren't such hoons.

[briantroutman]

Truck drivers must be professionals, aware of clearances, weight limits, etc. So no matter how you look at it, the driver is ultimately responsible for preventing overheight/overweight incidents even without the aid of flashing automated detectors and flashing signs.

But all of that said, I do have to place a little blame on the culture of VMS abuse that's rampant in this country (and perhaps around the world as well). How many times have we all seen VMSes being put to completely irrelevant or unnecessary uses? Click It or Ticket, Amber Alert, Arrive Alive..., and so on. And when they are used for some kind of practical purpose, the messages are often poorly constructed or split over multiple segments of a rotation so you end up with something like "DUI PATROLS THIS WEEKEND DONT"... "GET CAUGHT". I have found myself being distracted trying to wait for the next rotation to complete a VMS message.

So it wouldn't surprise me that many motorists have tuned VMSes out–or at least don't pay them full attention as traffic control devices.

The recent inferno at the I-81/US 22-322 interchange is an obvious reminder that, overheight, overweight, and too-fast-for-curve accidents are a recurring and often costly problem. Various local and state DOTs have concocted piecemeal solutions that vary from place to place, and I think what we need is a standardized and recognizable set of control signage and hardware to be used everywhere.

[hm insulators]

What I'm wondering... is the compliance from the water sign because it scares the crap out of them (ie, you don't expect something to suddenly appear in front of you while you're driving)? If they had advance sight of the sign would they ignore it? Are they ignoring the previous signs or not noticing them? I'm not sure which would bother me more... smug drivers thinking that signs don't apply to them (and risking lives because of it) or drivers so out of it that they miss at least TWO LARGE, BRIGHT, BLINKING SIGNS (which means they might miss other life-threatening situations).

Either way, that's a really cool (and practical!) use for a technology I always thought was kinda silly.

There is out there footage of a railroad bridge over a street in I believe Durham, North Carolina, where the overcrossing is only about 12 feet tall or thereabouts, and there's signs warning of the low bridge, and lights flashing merrily away when an overheight truck attempts to use that route to let the driver know, "Hey, ding-a-ling, your rig's too tall!" and the trucks still keep bashing into that bridge! I played it for Truvelo some months back.

I can see where it's some ordinary Joe driving a U-Haul or Penske truck for the first time in his life and isn't used to the vehicle, but anybody ever notice that a lot of these crashes into low bridges are by allegedly professional truck drivers?

It would be fun to be a fly on the wall at the dispatch office though, as the miscreant truck driver then gets to explain to his boss, in great detail, exactly how he managed to wreck the rig.

[1995hoo]

There is out there footage of a railroad bridge over a street in I believe Durham, North Carolina, where the overcrossing is only about 12 feet tall or thereabouts, and there's signs warning of the low bridge, and lights flashing merrily away when an overheight truck attempts to use that route to let the driver know, "Hey, ding-a-ling, your rig's too tall!" and the trucks still keep bashing into that bridge! I played it for Truvelo some months back.

....

Yup, that's in Durham. Southbound Gregson at Pettigrew. It's about half a mile east of Duke University's East Campus. The clearance is 11'8". Street View here: http://goo.gl/maps/gcwtp

A local resident maintains a website about that bridge: http://11foot8.com/

There's an even lower-clearance one in Charlottesville on University Avenue in front of the old UVA Hospital. Truck drivers seem not to hear the bell ringing nor see the flashing lights: