::SCREAMS::

[trinityvixen]

Holy Jesus, this is not okay.

Being trapped in a car that's gone off a bridge (or, in this case, had the bridge collapse out from under it) is my not-so-secret terror, one of the few I have about driving. Because to be trapped in my car such that I drown to death is more terrifying than falling to my death, which is otherwise the thing I fear the most (at least with falling, you get to see stuff and the end is quick).

feiran mentioned this last night, but I had no idea it was such a major collapse. My God, I'm going to be a wreck driving over bridges for forever. And, as people who saw me do it last weekend can attest, I wasn't that good about driving on the Tappan Zee to begin with.

::clutches at chest:: Oh GodOhGodOhGod

Comments

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

If it makes you feel any better, this will probably kick off a brief rush of every major metropolitan area scurrying to assure the populace that, "Yes, OUR bridges are safe. We checked. Really."

[teneda.livejournal.com]

not that they actually WOULD check, of course.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

But they did check! Right before this happened! THey checked and they said it was fine for twelve more years! Their checking? THEY!

[shell524.livejournal.com]

The federal inspectors who looked at it in 2005, I think, said it was deteriorating. The state apparently refused to do anything about it. Different standards much?

[teneda.livejournal.com]

They...

For some reason, I doubt "they" will be getting fired. I'll bet it was an overworked/underpaid-omg-how-am-I-supposed-to-get-all-this-done-with-the-budget-they-gave-me-let-me-rubber-stamp-this-one-just-to-get-it-done guy who looked it over and now he's going to be strung up for it.

Nevermind the possibility that the thing was built by the lowest bidder in an effort to make money off the building of it.

Nevermind that the materials to build it (not to mention the planning, schema, and everything else) prolly didn't take into account erosion from the river or an earthquake or that damned mole digging in just the wrong place.

I'm not saying they shouldn't blame anyone, I'm saying that it's not the inspector alone that's at fault, but the way we approach these things.

In certain countries, the builder of municipal structures like roads and bridges gives a guarantee for 10 or 15 years. ANYTHING goes wrong, they fix it for free.

Responsibility, durability, pride in your own workmanship. In today's world of "built in obsolesence," I wonder that the bridge didn't come down sooner.

[shell524.livejournal.com]

I can agree that it probably was inspected by someone with too much to do and not enough money to do it. At least, on the state level. The federal inspector was probably on the right track. I can also agree that it was BUILT, not designed, mind you, BUILT, by the lowest bidder, and that state infrastructure contracts often give incentives to rush work.

But to speculate that it was not designed or built to take into account erosion from the river or other likely environmental factors is absurd. The ONE thing that ANY engineer designing a structure to SPAN THE MISSISSIPPI would take into account would be erosion from said... small.. river.

[arcane-the-sage.livejournal.com]

Bigger bridge but nothing new. My mother and I had gone over a bridge once, coming back from Mass, that collapsed about an hour after we went over it. Sometimes things like this happen. All you can do is hope that your roll of the dice comes up good for your end.

F MARRY KILL:

[anarchicsquirrl.livejournal.com]

Bridge collapse, maggots, zombies. (Not mocking, just wondering the official order)

Re: F MARRY KILL:

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

F - you.

Marry - you to a blast-ended scroot

Kill - you.

Re: F MARRY KILL:

[(Anonymous)]

AAAAAAH YOU DIDN'T PLAY RIGHT!!!!

Re: F MARRY KILL:

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I can't hear you. You're dead.

Re: F MARRY KILL:

[fairest.livejournal.com]

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

[moonlightalice.livejournal.com]

I was in a L.A. hotel the night of the 1993 earthquake. THe bridge next to the hotel collapsed and half hte hotel I was staying in also collapsed. I slept right through it.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

That would be me too. At least if you were crushed in your sleep you wouldn't know it. But that's still friggin scary to think of.

[kent-allard-jr.livejournal.com]

"Get to see stuff"?

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you know, scenery. Bungie was pretty.

[kent-allard-jr.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but are you in any condition to appreciate it when you're falling to your death? I'm not sure getting impaled and drowning on the Great Barrier Reef would be all that hot, either.

[wellgull.livejournal.com]

You know, I was going to comment on that if no one else did.

[saikogrrl.livejournal.com]

I saw that on the news too. Scary.

*HUGS*

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I think I mostly have the freak out under control, thanks. It's stupid, but this is like a mortal phobia. And I'll be fine until I have to go over a bridge and I'll probably scream myself hoarse if I even feel a breeze from another car. Time to figure out ways around, not over, rivers...

[wellgull.livejournal.com]

Getting around the Hudson: not that easy to do.

By the way, I saw a special on the Discovery Channel or something about how to react if you are in a car that goes overboard into water. It's actually very survivable; the most important thing is to roll down (or, if necessary, break out) a window so that you have a release for the water pressure and can still open the door. Then you'll be able to swim to the surface.

BTW, remember the beginning of Beetlejuice? The couple should totally not have died from that. Their car didn't even SINK. WTF?

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Maybe they hit their heads? Broke their necks? The fact that they were completely unharmed makes it hard to tell what happened. But if internal organs were sheared, well, internally, they might not have shown it.

[shell524.livejournal.com]

They sell these awesome little tools that you keep in your car that have a steel mallet point for busting out windows and a razor blade for cutting seat belts for just that kind of incident. :p