Warning signs, sensors, flashing lights and even the embarrassment of an online video appearance have done nothing to stop dozens of drivers from slamming their trucks into a low-hanging train trestle in Durham, N.C.Nobody wants to be the star of this video.
A Duke University employee has garnered millions of views online by recording over 100 trucks that have ignored warnings and crashed into a low-hanging train trestle in Durham, N.C.
About eight years ago, not long after moving into his nearby office where he works as a systems analyst, JĂĽrgen Henn heard a crash at the bridge that shook the windows, according to The Wall Street Journal.
It wasn’t the first truck that had ignored the yellow warning sign and attempted to cross under the 11-foot, 8-inch bridge, Henn learned, and it wouldn’t be the last.
More crashes followed, so Henn set-up a video camera from his office window and later set up another camera across the street. Since 2008, he’s recorded 101 truck collisions with the bridge and has uploaded them to his website, 11f00t8.com.
So far, it’s mostly been trucks and drivers’ egos that have been victimized. The North Carolina Department of Transportation reports that since 2008 there’s been no fatalities and only one minor injury from the crashes, which have ripped away countless pieces of metal, some of which Henn is selling as souvenirs on his website.
The City of Durham, N.C. says the train trestle cannot be raised and that it has tried warning drivers by installing sensors that tall trucks will set off in the event that they will not make the low clearance.
However, even after setting off warning lights, trucks have continued to transform themselves into costly convertibles.
Estimated damage since 2008 is $500,000 million and most insurance companies will not cover the damage, The Wall Street Journal reports.
On Monday, Durham went back to work setting up another sensor that will turn a traffic light red in the event that an approaching truck proves to be too tall for the infamous bridge.
Henn says he’s hopeful that the new sensor will work, but he has his doubts.
After 101 crashes, who can blame him?
