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Epidemic of illiteracy sweeps Boston-area truck drivers

Granite City truck on Storrow Drive

For the second time this morning, a truck driver blithely dismissed that "CARS ONLY" sign on the on ramp only to learn that, hey, that sign meant business. James Chisholm captured the storrowed truck shortly after 11:30 a.m.

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Comments

Driving behind a truck is normally a little stressful because you can't see what's coming ahead of it. But now I have yet another reason to never drive behind one.

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See something? Say something! See a truck on Storrow? Call MSP.

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"storrowed". Heh. Love it.

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and for those with rocks in their head, more hanging things for the truck to loudly hit, warning them.

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don't they paint the sides of the overpass with TRUCKS DON'T FIT. Or something like that. Maybe in glitter with a disco ball pointed at them.

I mean, you can't fix stupid but you might be able to slow it down.

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yeah, totally agree. "no trucks" sounds like a guideline or a preference + by the time one sees it it's not clear that there are viable alternatives.

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It probably wouldn't help.

http://11foot8.com/

Here it is two hours after new signage and markers were installed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6BiAr1hAyM&list=U...

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don't allow any vehicles with commercial plates. That might be easier to understand for most truck drivers, when translated to Boston. Likely not to help with casual U-Haul drivers.

I like the idea of painted messages on the roadway, refreshed every spring (unless thermo-plastic tape is used, which lasts longer).

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Can't tell you how often these days I see a U-Haul on the Wilber Cross! I'm not sure what the penalties are.

A former neighbor of mine (who is a smart guy, in my opinion) somehow missed the "NO TRUCKS" sign and got on the Garden State Parkway with a U-Haul. About an hour down the road he got snagged by NJ State Police who escorted him all the way back north to the beginning of the parkway, gave him a ticket, and left to go on his way. So, I guess if the risk of getting snagged means that you basically lose two hours of driving, people probably don't do it.

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Assuming that a truck was able to figure out that it wasn't going to fit under an overpass...what happens next? How does it back up and get out?

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Typically, troopers will block a lane and let the driver back up - after giving him a ticket.

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is based out of Brighton right on Western Ave; they should REALLY know better. New, out of town driver would be my guess

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Hmm, no "Cars Only" sign here at Charles and Pinckney: http://goo.gl/maps/uzJJe

There is technically a "No Trucks" sign at Pinckney and Storrow, but can you spot it? http://goo.gl/maps/1l2Xw

And if a truck driver does see it, what are they supposed to do about it at that point?

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I don't see the sign at all.

However, if you did end up here with your truck, there are two escape routes that avoid hitting the Longfellow Brige ahead: either turn right onto Revere Street, or take the exit to Charles Circle.

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Not sure, if permits are issued to all trucks before they are allowed to drive in and out of the city, but it now happens so frequently that maybe they should have police or some agency manning certain key points in the city so it does not become a recurrent problem and cause a huge burden to motorists and waste of tax payers money. It is clear that responsible drivers are not able to read the signs.

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good idea, the city is not really congested now so checkpoints at every border is a fantastic idea. maybe they should do something before the students get here in September? I see that as being a possible issue.

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