Trucks in the Ditch on 79 SB

Submitted by screwball90 t3_yef5sc in pittsburgh

How many more trucks need to end up flipped and in the ditch on 79 SB before the Neville Island Bridge? What is the body count up to? 5? 6? When will PENNDOT realize that right lane shift to the uneven the shoulder is too dangerous.

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B0bb3r7 t1_itxqk0c wrote

Or drivers could operate their vehicles skillfully and safely.

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Wouldwoodchuck t1_ity1lap wrote

Bold take. Keeping a trailer on 12 foot wide turn at speed and if you catch and edge you roll … gotta be a better way

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screwball90 OP t1_itz68sw wrote

Bold strategy Cotton, let’s see how it works out for him.

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fuckmelikeawh0re t1_itzbd9c wrote

Have you driven the section of road he's speaking of? I've had oh shit moments there going under the speed limit in a passenger car. All of a sudden it feels like you're going into a ditch. An over correction during otherwise safe operating conditions can probably flip a truck there..

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screwball90 OP t1_iu0umwh wrote

This is exactly what I’m talking about. I can easily see a truck getting knocked to the passenger side from the uneven pavement and just tipping.

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d4bbl3z t1_itzlz58 wrote

First thing I think is: what's the posted speed limit, and how fast are they actually going?

This is a construction zone we're talking about. Limit should be dropped, maybe doubly so for trucks. On 79SB just past the Coraopolis exit, there's an S-curve with very obvious signage for trucks to limit to 45mph. If I saw a truck flipped in that stretch, my first thought would be they took a turn too fast.

If the problem is the lane and not the speed, put up one of those "no trucks X lane" signs. This shouldn't be a hard fix.

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CARLEtheCamry t1_iu0aghp wrote

Hopefully the affected vehicles are filing claims against the state. I'm willing to bet any insurance adjuster with a pulse would be all over this.

For those who haven't driven it - it's really bad, even at the reduced speed limit. I'm not going to pretend to know what the actual spec is for these kind of temporary construction shifts, but it seems like someone messed up. Teaching my teenager to drive and returning from Erie and hitting that was the biggest butthole pucker I've had with him driving.

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screwball90 OP t1_iu0uvdz wrote

I think the multiple trucks in the ditch is good evidence something is very wrong.

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CARLEtheCamry t1_iu0xqrv wrote

Right, but speeding + bad drivers certainly could be a factor. I'd lower the limit even more if I were PennDOT, and put one of the auto speed cameras there, just to protect from the liability.

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mikesarney t1_iu0rbsf wrote

The S-Curves there are non-constant radius. You can start on the turn at a good speed for your truck, but the radius decreases. If you're not paying attention, suddenly you're going too fast for the turn.

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screwball90 OP t1_iu0ufux wrote

Those are bad too. I’m mainly talking in the construction zone on the north side of the bridge. Tight bend, plus there a two pretty violent dips to the passenger side due to uneven pavement. As folks have said here, an overcorrection could easily tip a top heavy truck.

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