Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Sydney tunnel water screen stop sign for oversized vehicles [video]

youtube.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 206 posts

Re: Sydney tunnel water screen stop sign for oversized vehicles [video]

#41

Post by ChrisClark »

aashaykumar92 wrote: post #7

What a neat idea! But if these trucks are PURPOSEFULLY breaking the laws and continuing to go through the tunnel, I am not sure that this solution will hold up for too long; after all, the clever truck drivers will know it is a mere illusion. Furthermore, instead of a water screen, wouldn't a brick screen be more effective? Personally, I wouldn't mind going through water nearly as much as I would be running into a br…

I think you missed the point, and most of the video. If the truck continued it would have crashed into the tunnel, tearing off the top of the truck and possibly taking days to clean up and fix. The video showed one of those accidents.

I don't think ignoring the illusion and trying to continue would do him any good.

Re: Sydney tunnel water screen stop sign for oversized vehicles [video]

#42

Post by Kluny »

dlhavema wrote: post #33
Smerity wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The advantage with the signs before the final water sign is that they should be enough for any reasonably alert driver and don't make the environment more hazardous. You really want to have the water screen projection, which douses the road with water, as the last line of defence. Water on the road is likely to make it far more difficult to stop a large truck like that. Having it earlier could actually be detrimental…

signs and "plackards" go ignored all the time. i worked in a computer lab and had to put up signs when things were broken ( internet, printer, etc.. ) and we always got people ignoring them...

"Placards" is the word you're looking for.

Yeah, nobody likes reading, and even when they do, they assume that they can disregard the signs if they have a good reason - such as, they reaaaally want to.

At some point you have to accept this, do some A/B testing and find the way to actually get people's attention. For instance, a WET PAINT sign will be ignored. But "This paint was wet at 8:32 AM, please do not touch til after noon" might be more effective.

A sign on the printer that just says it's broken will be blithely ignored. But if you cover it with a sheet, and the sign says "Printer out of order on May 10th, tech has been notified", that's a lot tougher to miss.

The burden of communication is on the communicator, not the recipient, so if the sign's not working, get better at making signs.

Re: Sydney tunnel water screen stop sign for oversized vehicles [video]

#44

Post by Kluny »

jere wrote: post #24

You might think that trucks ignoring multiple, obvious flashing warning signs wouldn't be that common. This hilarious video proves otherwise: http://gizmodo.com/5955244/watch-this-bridge-destroying-doze...

It's easy to not see stuff when you've been driving for 16 hours straight.

Re: Sydney tunnel water screen stop sign for oversized vehicles [video]

#45

Post by HarryHirsch »

VLM wrote: post #35
jere wrote: post #24

You might think that trucks ignoring multiple, obvious flashing warning signs wouldn't be that common. This hilarious video proves otherwise: http://gizmodo.com/5955244/watch-this-bridge-destroying-doze...

"multiple, obvious flashing warning signs wouldn't be that common." Unfortunately they are way too common. Did you know there's wild animals living outdoors and they cross roads? 75 miles away a divorced family is having a custody dispute so here's abduction alert #243 for the year as a punishment from one parent to the other? There's a terrorist hiding behind every tree stump? Next month some roadwork is planned alt…

These yellow flashing signs are useless, as you say, but you'd think that drivers are conditioned to obey traffic lights, and most every tunnel in existence - including the one in Sydney - has these red and green lights up top that allows the tunnel crew to block lanes individually. I couldn't tell why truckers see these and still blow through them.

Re: Sydney tunnel water screen stop sign for oversized vehicles [video]

#46

Post by rz2k »

obituary_latte wrote: post #25
leeoniya wrote: post #3

ironically, the water on the road makes it that much more difficult to stop

ironically, physics would preclude an oversized truck from reaching the wet pavement.

It has carefully designed overhead friction surfaces?

Re: Sydney tunnel water screen stop sign for oversized vehicles [video]

#47

Post by Kluny »

aashaykumar92 wrote: post #7

What a neat idea! But if these trucks are PURPOSEFULLY breaking the laws and continuing to go through the tunnel, I am not sure that this solution will hold up for too long; after all, the clever truck drivers will know it is a mere illusion. Furthermore, instead of a water screen, wouldn't a brick screen be more effective? Personally, I wouldn't mind going through water nearly as much as I would be running into a br…

The drivers aren't doing it purposely. They have been driving for 16 hours, are in an unfamiliar city, and are almost asleep at the wheel.

Re: Sydney tunnel water screen stop sign for oversized vehicles [video]

#49

Post by jack-r-abbit »

obituary_latte wrote: post #25
leeoniya wrote: post #3

ironically, the water on the road makes it that much more difficult to stop

ironically, physics would preclude an oversized truck from reaching the wet pavement.

also some geometry at work there.
Post reply on HN