OK...

[enismirdal]

So yes, I did laugh a lot when, walking down Silver Street today, I espied an SUV neatly impaled on one of the rising bollards¹. I guess that makes me a bad person...

But it was towing a tractor on a trailer, so it wasn't even like this was some clueless tourist - this person presumably thought they could sneak an SUV with trailer through the bollards without getting caught. I guess they'd been tailgating a taxi.

From where the bollard was located relative to the underside of the car, we reckon that engine is going to be a write-off. Probably an expensive repair bill there!

In other news, I went to Hayley Wood and it was indecently pretty. More later when I've essayed and Chai Latte'd.

¹For persons not familar with Cambridge traffic restriction measures, access into many parts of central Cambridge is restricted by rising bollards. These can be lowered if you drive a public transport vehicle with some sort of radio-control in; they lower long enough to let your vehicle through, and then rise up again almost immediately after you have passed. Some sneaky drivers of private vehicles have discovered that if they drive very close behind a taxi, they can sneak through before the bollard pops up again. However, if they misjudge and are not fast enough, it comes up into their engine. Er...yah...


ETA: According to sonicdrift, the unfortunate driver died as a result of this incident. At this point, I will retract my mocking and be sad. If a rich git with an SUV gets a large repair bill for arrogant stupidity, I laugh. If the rich git loses his/her life, I do not laugh. That's disproportionate punishment. :(

Comments

[mdavison.livejournal.com]

Photograph!

[enismirdal.livejournal.com]

A LOT of people did stop to take photos on their phones - or, in the case of some tourists, on their actual cameras. Unfortunately I have neither a camera-phone nor a working digital camera at present!

[ewx.livejournal.com]

I've not heard of anyone succeeding in tailing a taxi thru the bollards, but I'll concede I don't know it to be impossible. The usual excuses you hear are either that the driver didn't see the (numerous...) signs or that their satnav said they could go that way.

[enismirdal.livejournal.com]

I was once in a taxi that was successfully tailgated through the bollards - the taxi driver seemed extremely amazed at the driver's luck, and swore quite colourfully!

[lifes-a-dream.livejournal.com]

I have a photo that someone sent me...hehehehe

[enismirdal.livejournal.com]

CLASSIC!!!

[blue-blue.livejournal.com]

Does that metal thing rise from the street to create some kind of fence for normal traffic? Is this what a "bollard" is?
*has never heard about such a thing*

[enismirdal.livejournal.com]

A bollard is a stick like this (http://www.gatekitsdirect.co.uk/images/bollard.jpg) - the rising ones rise out of the middle of the road and can also be lowered into the road. When they are up, they block the centre of the road so no traffic can pass (except, in theory, a bike, or a very daring, skinny motorcyclist); if you can cause them to lower, they disappear into the ground so you can drive a car along the road normally.

If you are driving over a place where there is a rising bollard, and it starts rising as you go over it (usually because you shouldn't be there), your car gets wrecked!

Cambridge centre has really old, narrow streets that would be incredibly busy, congested and polluted if everyone was allowed in, so the rising bollards exclude all traffic but taxis, police cars and buses.

(Comment reposted as forgot to close tag on first go.)

[fumi-gation.livejournal.com]

Of course, the ironic thing here is the inclusion of buses; the last thing Trumpington Street/Silver Street Junction needs is a no.4 bus swinging incredibly wide (thereby stopping traffic/pissing people off) but also taking up the *entire* of Silver Street, which, if you're driving/cycling the other way, can be interesting to say the least...

[enismirdal.livejournal.com]

Hey, you're at Catz!!! Do I know you?

[fumi-gation.livejournal.com]

Don't think so, who be you? :)

[enismirdal.livejournal.com]

3rd year Bionatsci living in Woodlark and probably most famous for failing to participate in social events.

I look like this (http://edith.freelinuxhost.com/Pre-edited/VernonWedding/slides/IMG_7966.JPG).

[fumi-gation.livejournal.com]

Oh cool, I'm sure I've seen you around plodge or something before. I'm a 1st year classicist living in Hobson's, probably most famous for...being about to fail all my exams due to internet procrastination...

[senji.livejournal.com]

I'd much rather have the buses than the pre-bollard traffic :-)

[nienna-weeper.livejournal.com]

Ooh, that's gotta hurt! Looks like a very pricey SUV too...

[(Anonymous)]

*fires M16 into the air* That is amusing. It saves on the normal ammunition bill! The bollard will also need replacing!
Abner

[nina321.livejournal.com]

it does not make you a bad person at all that you laughed at that.
Not at all...

*snigger*

I remember when those things got installed over summer and we had to ring the college to ask how we could get to the car park... they more or less picked up the phone and said "Are you asking about the bollards?"

[sonicdrift.livejournal.com]

I just found out, the driver died:
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/city/2006/05/16/8ec22332-a9ba-42a1-9de8-4213ea230ca0.lpf

[enismirdal.livejournal.com]

Oh, god, that's awful :(

I mean...rich person getting hefty repair bill for stupidity = funny.
Rich person dying = rather less funny.

Eeep! :(

[(Anonymous)]

Rather less funny indeed. (Although I suspect my Red Corps wouldn't agree.) It is also true that had my garrison still been there the vehicle would have been turned into a colander although no one is allowed to laugh at that.
Abner

[sonicdrift.livejournal.com]

It doesn't look the sort of accident you'd expect anyone to be hurt in, there was no way to know it'd been more serious when initially sniggering at the stupidity. I passed it and I would have stopped to take photos if i'd had a camera as I assumed noone had been injured.

I don't see why it's funnier because he can afford an expensive car though, or why this automatically makes him a git. He might well have worked hard to be able to buy it and given he's pulling a tractor there's a fair chance it wasn't just being used to take the kids to school.

[enismirdal.livejournal.com]

Well, it would be more amusing than skint person getting the same bill, as he can demonstrably afford to pay it. And he's a git because the bollards are clearly labelled but he presumably thought he was special enough to be able to sneak through them and dodge the Rules, not because he's rich.

I would be suspicious that something as large and shiny and new and clean as that was primarily used offroad/in adverse conditions/for towing tractors... but I may be wrong.

Admittedly, I do hate SUVs with a soul-consuming passion.

[(Anonymous)]

Hating SUVs- my AT units would happily have you on their rations strength!
Abner

[sonicdrift.livejournal.com]

It is possible to wash cars, especially with shiny dirt resistant coatings.

My mind missed that *anyone* could be dumb enough to think they could sneak through with a car that long and a trailer so just assumed they missed the signs with very unfortunate timing. Possibly just wishful thinking on the intelligence of mankind.

I'd agree with city based 4x4, but there's a bunch of annoying people running round Cambridge bravely putting anonymous flyers on windscreens telling anyone who has one they're evil.

[illusive-shelle.livejournal.com]

On the other hand, the SUV on the bollard is still funny. The death seems (in my mind) to be a seperate and regretable incident.