Improving the Quality of the Rivers (Pittsburgh, Monongahela: insurance, crime, refrigerator)

[Lobick]

Caught this last paragraph in the PG and it just doesn't seem quite right to me. With so much progress being made in recent years, surely some entity, be it the City, not-for-profit or the insurance companies can fund efforts to eliminate this practice.

Mr. Linn also said there are no plans to remove any of the three cars from the river. The cars don't present a navigational hazard and there is no need to examine them for a crime scene. Mr. Linn said that it is up to the insurance company connected to the vehicle to hire a salvage company to pull the car out of the river, but that typically insurance companies choose not to take action and the cars remain in the river.

Read more: Police spot unoccupied car sinking in Monongahela River in South Side - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Wow, that article. That's seriously some third-world level of carelessness.

[BrianTH]

It seems to me that insurance companies should be required to fund retrieval and scrapping of any abandoned cars (in rivers or elsewhere), which means ultimately passing on the costs to owners in a risk-adjusted manner.

[Lobick]

Follow up:

What lurks beneath Pittsburgh's three rivers is raising eyebrows - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

[I_Like_Spam]

If the wreckage doesn't impede navigation or the water company intakes, its a bit of an extravagance to insist that the vehicles all be hauled out of there.

Its like moving one's refrigerator in order to retrieve a dime. Sure, you'd like to get the dime back, but it just isn't worth the bother.

[MathmanMathman]

But in an era of being "Green", what with the car's fuel, oil, and whatever else deteriorates like paint, they should be pulled from the river. And if the owner or insurance company can be traced, they pay.

[sparrowmint]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

But in an era of being "Green", what with the car's fuel, oil, and whatever else deteriorates like paint, they should be pulled from the river. And if the owner or insurance company can be traced, they pay.

Smart, so a person whose car is stolen then has to pay for the retrieval of the car from the river caused by the person who victimized the car owner to begin with.

Let's just victimize people twice, and for what? So some nittering people who don't understand too much about environmental pollution can make themselves feel better? Yeah, pointless.

[eccotecc]

The rivers are a natural resource and should be cared for and maintained. The people of Pittsburgh should be very concerned that a major focal point of the city is being managed by benign neglect. Every effort should be made to remove the debris that has been left to rot in the rivers. The rivers are the lifeblood of the City.

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by sparrowmint

Smart, so a person whose car is stolen then has to pay for the retrieval of the car from the river caused by the person who victimized the car owner to begin with.

Let's just victimize people twice, and for what? So some nittering people who don't understand too much about environmental pollution can make themselves feel better? Yeah, pointless.

I suppose their insurance will cover it. But even so, if the car is pushed down a ravine and is totaled, the owner can just leave it there and walk away?

[selltheburgh]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

I suppose their insurance will cover it. But even so, if the car is pushed down a ravine and is totaled, the owner can just leave it there and walk away?

great point. the answer is likely no because people will have to look at it. the rivers are treated with an out of sight, out of mind type of attitude. it is sad.