It's always Labor Day weekend on Storrow Drive

But it needs to be repeated.

Entering Storrow Drive and, to a lesser extent, Memorial Drive, drivers see a sign indicating "Danger Low Clearance." Unfortunately, there's a critical piece of information missing from this sign - What is the actual low clearance? So none of us should be surprised that drivers routinely choose to take a gamble. Especially when, if they decided to exercise caution instead, they would have to back down the entrance ramp, blocking traffic both trying to enter the highway and the adjacent intersection. This can be very dicey, especially with an 18 wheeler.

Same logic applies for the poorly placed "No Trucks" signs (where they actually exist), and the idiotic homemade looking "Cars Only" rubber baby buggy bumper signs that bear NO resemblance to real traffic signs, which can only be seen after a driver has committed to entering the highway.

Want to greatly reduce the instances of Storrowings and near-Storrowings? Then provide drivers adequate warning of the low clearances and truck restrictions BEFORE they have a chance to turn onto the entrance ramps. But that would mean - gasp - actually putting up signs that are located and large enough for people to read. For starters, the No Trucks and Low Clearance information should be provided on the advance guide signs directing drivers to these roads. It's not that difficult at all. But, sadly, idiotic "neighborhood" associations have decided we can't have any of that in our precious "historic" districts.

And, with respect to Swirls and the other deniers out there, while it is all well and good to say "but the driver is ultimately responsible for paying attention to signs", the reality here remains that the information being provided to drivers entering these roads, currently being flawed in both design and presentation, encourages said drivers - especially the non-professionals driving these rental trucks - to take risks.

Lastly, for the inevitable "But look at the trestle in Durham, NC" crowd, I will point out that the cost difference between poorly designed and placed signs, and properly designed and placed ones, is virtually negligible. And no, I have never asserted that providing properly designed, sized, and placed signs, will totally eliminate 100% of such incidents. However, the current countermeasures the DCR and City of Boston have chosen to take are woefully inadequate at preventing Storrowings and near-Storrowings. We should be demanding better from our government - and we can start from transferring control of Storrow and Memorial Drives from the DCR to MassDOT. The concept that these roads function as "recreational parkways", and not the key arterial roads people actually use them as on a daily basis, is sorely outdated.