Beware the falling bridge!!!.

NateO · Vice JDK and Man of the People

Beware the falling bridge!!!.

Susan · Tickle me, Elmo! I'm Roger Moore's Stunt Double!

Yeah, it's had a lot of coverage over here. Not good at all. hmm

ddvmor · **I am the Jammie King!**

I wondered how much coverage it would get back home - It seems to have had pretty much 24/7 coverage over in the states, spawning all sorts of sensationalist claptrap about all the bridges in the US being on the verge of collapse. I even heard one numpty suggest that the collapse was due to global warming because the rising sea put more pressure on the bridge and... I think she mentioned otters as well, but I can't be sure.

Pretty lucky the death toll has stayed as low as it has, all told. Pretty damn lucky!

sha76jam · Cpt Acorn Short of An Oaktree

Never realised you were so close Nate, thank goodness you weren't on it.

They will apparentley now be checking all UK bridges - just in case. Just in case what? Just in case they think "Ooh, maybe if an American bridge has collapsed then so should I"? I mean, I could undertand them double checking any with a similar structure, but all of them? & I believe they do undertake fairly regular routine checks anyway.

Sorry, rant over & my sympathy to any who have bean affected.

NateO · Vice JDK and Man of the People

ddvmor wrote:

I even heard one numpty suggest that the collapse was due to global warming because the rising sea put more pressure on the bridge and... I think she mentioned otters as well, but I can't be sure.

I saw the same thing... How ridiculous does have to get? It probably had more to do with them jack-hammering the stupid thing! furious

I'm amazed with how low the death-count is from this... When I first saw it I thought "D'oh, there goes 200 people..." cry

Yes, I was very close. I live about 10 blocks away from this particular brige! doh

ddvmor · **I am the Jammie King!**

Yeah, the jack-hammers never help. Beware the jack-hammers?

I note that you can now view the CNN footage of the collapse on youtube, complete with panicked lady in the foreground.

Aodan · Teiam Member

I think there was a lot of concern over the fact that this bridge was given the a-ok the last time it was inspected. Obviously something was missed, and that causes concern for other bridges as well. Shoddy inspections.

My friend's husband was about to drive on the bridge when it happened. I can't even imagine what that was like. Just watching the video was disturbing. It really is amazing that there weren't more casualties.

I've always hated bridges and I try really hard to stop my brain from going through every awful scenario each time I cross one. (I live on an island, so this is pretty frequent)

ddvmor · **I am the Jammie King!**

Aodan wrote:
I've always hated bridges and I try really hard to stop my brain from going through every awful scenario each time I cross one. (I live on an island, so this is pretty frequent)

Bridge alternatives allow plenty of scope for phobias! How are you with tunnels and boats?

JonnyStead · **"I'm Lois!"**

Some kind of rocket canon is the way to go!

ddvmor · **I am the Jammie King!**

Of course. Just stick an old mattress of a pile of cardboard boxes on the other side of the river for a soft landing! As long as you wear a helmet, what could possibly go wong?

Truckman · Old. But wise!

ddvmor wrote:
Bridge alternatives allow plenty of scope for phobias! How are you with tunnels and boats?

You're missing the obvious alternative:
Don't go!...It may be scary over there...Ben

Aodan · Teiam Member

Im ok with boats, but I avoid tunnels at all costs.

ddvmor · **I am the Jammie King!**

Oh dear. So the subway's right out then...?

Aodan · Teiam Member

well ok.. tunnels in my car.. the subway doesn't bother me really.. I guess I don't think of them as being tunnels... and most of them aren't underwater... its the water thing that freaks me out..like the midtown or holland tunnel.. im always afraid of getting stuck in there and then it collapsing and the rushing water and drowning and all that...

-- Edited by Aodan at 15:53, 2007-08-06

ddvmor · **I am the Jammie King!**

Hmm. You might not do so well in the Channel Tunnel, then...

Aodan · Teiam Member

I would think not. I remember reading about it and thinking that I would have to be rendered unconscious before being able to go through there

ddvmor · **I am the Jammie King!**

No worries. We'll give the border guards baseball bats then...