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The bridge operator was not in contact with the boat and had to open it up in an emergency situation and missed the driver. No indication that the driver went around barriers. Had the bridge operator even seen the car he would have had to decide between opening it up on the car or letting the boat slam into the bridge.
Yeah....most are like the one in the clip you posted......the one in question, the NJ Middle Thorofare Bridge though only has one section that pivots up with a counterweight on one end (not 2 separate pivoting section like most).
For those asking if he drove around the warning bar or whatever, I don't think you can 1st of all (I believe it extends the full width of the roadway).....and from everything I've read about this, it seems the bridge operator (supposedly because of sun glare) did not see the vehicle...what I think happened is the lighted warning arm/bar was coming down but the driver got past it before it was fully down to prevent him from proceeding or fully seeing it.....he then had a clear path until he was almost at the rising deck and either panicked or just reacted without fully considering his options in the limited time he had available. For anyone saying he may have done this on purpose (maybe to sue later), that's just plain crazy...he had no way of knowing he could be sure he would make it and/or wasn't gonna kill himself or his family.
Nope, on this particular bridge there's only one segment that can be raised, so the anchored end is still connected to the rest of the bridge. If the car was coming from the east, it could be jumped over the gap, and if it was coming from the west, it would go off the edge right into the water.
Nope, on this particular bridge there's only one segment that can be raised, so the anchored end is still connected to the rest of the bridge. If the car was coming from the east, it could be jumped over the gap, and if it was coming from the west, it would go off the edge right into the water.
Does look possible for a vehicle short enough to slide down into the water as the pivot point is not at the extreme end of that section of roadway. The article has a picture.
That's some real action movie stuff right there....LOL....glad they made it through safe but that landing must've been harsh (car sustained at least $10k in damage.....probably totaled though as I'm sure the frame is bent and all the undercarriage wrecked).
It reminds me of this.....LOL:
You picked the wrong movie! It was clearly a reenactment of the Blues Brothers!
Does look possible for a vehicle short enough to slide down into the water as the pivot point is not at the extreme end of that section of roadway. The article has a picture.
Seems to be a good deal of misconceptions on this thread. Drawbridges are not like doors that swing on hinges. Instead, there is a pivot point at the fixed part of the bridge deck. While the part of the draw span that you drive on is going up, another part of it that you don't see, underneath the fixed bridge, is going down. And there is a gap between the draw span and the fixed span. It may not be wide enough to slip through down to the water, but it's certainly wide enough to slide into and have your car's roof decapitated.
Whenever you see a car jump a twin-span drawbridge in a movie, if you look closely you'll see that they've covered up the gap between the draw span and the fixed span, so that the car can land safely on the other side. In real life, a car jumping over a twin-span drawbridge will come down the other wide and find itself wedged in between the opposite-side draw span and fixed span. A guy I knew in high school found this out the hard way, at the cost of his life.
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