re: 18 wheeler hits electrical worker at Denham Springs intersection

quote:

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Why are they working on the lights like that and allowing traffic to pass through directly under them? Is that normal?

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Not suggested and in Georgia not legal and doubtful it is in Louisianna but it happens more than it should. They were most likely doing maintenance and when they set up planned to stay higher than the light...again, not suggested and not legal but not uncommon. At some point he decided to drop down just a bit to get to whatever he was getting at, probably without thinking being focused on the task at hand, and the rest is self explanatory.

I watched as a woman slid broadside in to a telescoping lift with one of my employees working on a traffic signal in Athens tears ago. Verified DOT barricade, police car and officer at both ends of it directing traffic and this lady comes barrelling along, stone sober, ignores the cops, plows through the barricade of cones and when she sees the lift she brakes hard and turns sharply and did about a 75 degree spin right into the base of that lift. She was in a Chrysler mini van doing about 45 MPH when she hit the brakes. It barely moved the base of that lift....moved the basket 20 feet away enough to scare the shite out of the guy in it, tore the drivers side of that van up. He was not hurt, she was not hurt, but she was ticketed. Luckliy we used fall protection but he never came close to falling out but it looked bad while it was happening....I just knew I was going to have to call his wife and tell her he wasn't coming home from dinner.