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Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)

bbc.com

51–60 of 136 posts

Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)

#51
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

France also used to have Mont-Saint-Michel, but that one is no more.

Really? I'm went over that causeway a few years ago - what happened?

No, the causeway is there. His point is that it didn't used to be. It used to be a path that would vanish beneath rising tides daily, just like the one described in this post.

Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)

#52
post #26

Things that look and feel like something you've done a thousand times, and may do a thousand times again with no danger. Except that sometimes, things can change very quickly. There's a creek bed near me that dried out almost completely over the summer; usually there's some water flow and occasional shallow pools where small fish live. While it was completely dry, I wanted to walk as far downstream as I could. I woke…

Maybe creeks are different where you're from, but as a young individual in the US northeast the idea of being "swept away never to be seen again" by a creek is a bit comical, torrential rain or not. You'd make it about a few yards before hitting one embankment or other and clamber out. Cold and wet, sure, but certainly to be seen again.

Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)

#53

In Seattle, the old I90 floating bridge across Lake Washington had a "bulge" where a section of the roadway could be pushed into the bulge to make room for boat passage. When the section was retracted, the highway abruptly ended, and a barrier was put up. The Bulge was infamous for traffic accidents where you suddenly had to swerve right then left then right at highway speed, with narrow lanes lined with concrete wal…

I was curious too and found this Reddit write-up:

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/6zr2d6...

Picture of the bridge. (I'm EU so couldn't view the previous link)

https://www.reddit.com/r/Seattle/comments/5ticw5/til_a_dange...

Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)

#54
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's great to hear about these kinds of hidden dangers (immortalized by a wordsworth poem no less), but based on what's stated in the article, the sign shown in one of the photos seems to make the mistake of exhorting without informing (and persuading): > "danger. this pool is very dangerous. submerged rocks. diving, jumping & swimming prohibited." it seems it should say something more like "danger. hidden, swift und…

San Francisco has these signs on Ocean Beach: https://www.flickr.com/photos/c_nilsen/2823013166 They emphasize the concrete fact that people have actually died from the danger, which seems a little closer to your suggestion.

yes, that's better, but in that case, it's about possible death (how possible?), rather than probable death, so it's (intentionally?) ambiguous.

it seems to lack information about when rip currents are most likely, and more to the point, the statistical likelihood of death from entering the water at all.

i'm personally not a strong swimmer so would avoid it anyways, but that information might more readily dissuade others by simply putting trust in the reader to make an appropriate life or death decision.

Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)

#55
post #26

Things that look and feel like something you've done a thousand times, and may do a thousand times again with no danger. Except that sometimes, things can change very quickly. There's a creek bed near me that dried out almost completely over the summer; usually there's some water flow and occasional shallow pools where small fish live. While it was completely dry, I wanted to walk as far downstream as I could. I woke…

Maybe creeks are different where you're from, but as a young individual in the US northeast the idea of being "swept away never to be seen again" by a creek is a bit comical, torrential rain or not. You'd make it about a few yards before hitting one embankment or other and clamber out. Cold and wet, sure, but certainly to be seen again.

Indeed, in the South West, flash flooding carries families away occasionally. This year we've had exceptional fires, and the drainage from burn scars often carries what used to be a forest along with it. I don't know about GP's situation, obviously, but there is definitely a spectrum of intensity with regard to sudden water flows.

Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)

#56

In Seattle, the old I90 floating bridge across Lake Washington had a "bulge" where a section of the roadway could be pushed into the bulge to make room for boat passage. When the section was retracted, the highway abruptly ended, and a barrier was put up. The Bulge was infamous for traffic accidents where you suddenly had to swerve right then left then right at highway speed, with narrow lanes lined with concrete wal…

But do you remember what happened to the replacement the night before Clinton was inaugurated?

Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)

#57
post #26

Things that look and feel like something you've done a thousand times, and may do a thousand times again with no danger. Except that sometimes, things can change very quickly. There's a creek bed near me that dried out almost completely over the summer; usually there's some water flow and occasional shallow pools where small fish live. While it was completely dry, I wanted to walk as far downstream as I could. I woke…

As soon as it started raining, wouldn't you have just gotten out of the creek via the nearest embankment?

https://youtu.be/_yCnQuILmsM?t=71

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RluoQW0t2yQ

Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)

#58
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cancelling a public right of way is not easy. If it were, most of them would have disappeared years ago because land owners don't usually appreciate them being there. By the sound of it, the current signage is hardly enticing. But it's an interesting question whether someone might potentially be liable.

Can disuse cause a public right of way to cease existing in the UK?

No.

Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)

#60
post #26

Things that look and feel like something you've done a thousand times, and may do a thousand times again with no danger. Except that sometimes, things can change very quickly. There's a creek bed near me that dried out almost completely over the summer; usually there's some water flow and occasional shallow pools where small fish live. While it was completely dry, I wanted to walk as far downstream as I could. I woke…

Maybe creeks are different where you're from, but as a young individual in the US northeast the idea of being "swept away never to be seen again" by a creek is a bit comical, torrential rain or not. You'd make it about a few yards before hitting one embankment or other and clamber out. Cold and wet, sure, but certainly to be seen again.

It’s a real thing in mountainous areas, because so much water can get channeled into tiny ravines super quickly.
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