Those photos are all taken on rainy foggy days and that is one shiny, uniformly reflective parking lot surface. I wonder if the yellow pole on those horizontal lines forms enough of an optical illusion that leads somewhat distracted drivers to wildly misjudge the distance their vehicle is from the pole.
Especially with another similarly sited pole someone else posted, in similar weather conditions. and it looks like the pole is REALLY close in width to the lines on the ground. Could be a cool phenomenon to look into.
Yup. If it keeps happening, maybe there’s a design flaw. Remember, nobody’s perfect all of the time so we need to design things to accommodate the mistakes people inevitably make.
It is good to design to account for stupidity, or in these cases design around known limitations (eyesight in poor conditions, visibility from a driver’s seat).
It is good to design to account for stupidity
Is the rock or sign putting people in danger? I’d argue they account for stupidity by stopping the people who aren’t paying attention and shouldn’t be driving right now.
The dangerous driver is stopped on an inanimate object instead of causing an accident and no one is hurt.
Correct answer.
Incidentally, but not at all coincidentally, this is precisely why Target stores always have those red concrete spheres in front of the doors. Which are typically nearly exactly the same height and thus have the same potential amount of visibility/invisibility below a driver’s sightline as this rock. It’s to prevent morons from crashing their vehicles through the doors.
The rock(s) pictured are not even in the parking lot like this Wal Mart pole. If you leave the road, it is reasonable to expect that you will encounter obstacles.
Not so much morons as targeted attacks. Same reason malls (remember malls?) have those great big planters placed randomly on the floors, to stop vehicles that made it past the bollards. Defensive architecture, its a fascinating and extremely depressing subdiscipline.
Lol the guy that tripped over it
If it keeps happening, maybe there’s a design flaw.
The 11’8" bridge taught me that it’s always human stupidity. They have regular signs, flashing signs, sensors that automatically turn the light red if you’re too tall, and other stuff. And yet we still have regular videos of trucks opening themselves like tin cans.
Ooh, the bridge got a moving truck last week, lol.
EDIT: and there was a perfect can opener last month. It’s hilarious how, in spite of everything, that bridge is still fucking up trucks.
They actually raised that bridge – or rather, lowered the underpass at what was surely great expense – and even at its new taller height of 12’4" it’s still not enough to help stupid people.
I wonder if the yellow pole on those horizontal lines forms enough of an optical…
No, it’s Walmart.
I have lived close to several Walmarts, and each and every single one has smashed signs in the parking lot because the people who frequent Walmart are exactly the kinds of people who drive straight into solid objects.
Target had similar problems in Denver.
Optical illusion or not, you shouldn’t be driving over the yellow hashes. Stop trying to cut the corner and you’d never be close enough to the pole to hit it.
Especially in a parking lot. If you’re not seeing a giant pole, maybe you’re also not seeing a child in a yellow coat.
They need to have some serious speed to crawl up that far. Its 1000% stupid people who cant drive/dont care.
It’s a yellow pole placed among yellow lines painted on the ground. It’s a terrible layout and design. There needs to be more contrast between the pole and the lines on the ground.
It said stop
Instructions unclear, go?
Consent is important
No, you stop!
Yes I see the stop sign Elmo, but how am I supposed to find an octagon if I’m stopped at the stop sign huh? How Elmo how!?
Farmington Maine Walmart pole is also a menace!
*Auburn Maine
Hey I came to mention this!
Neat
This isn’t the Thriller - U Can’t Touch This mashup I was expecting
What else are you going to do in Topeka?
Well, obviously you can get drunk… Though I think that exhausts the list.
Understandable, I think being drunk is the only way to deal with Walmart.
This pole takes drunk drivers off the road. A local hero.
Drink, fight, or fuck. This includes the entire midwest.
And then the family reunion is over.
So this wouldn’t be a problem for me around a normal pole, but now that I have seen this famous one… do NOT let me drive here. I fear my intrusive thoughts.
It has roots in hell
Is it just me or are the first and third pictures of the same incident?
They look like the same incident to me too, just taken from different angles and different times.
It’s hot in Topeka
Pick my toe, it’s hot
And showers in Spokane
Shhhpppookaaanneee
The sign takes its job very seriously.
I was gonna say. Unlike most other stop signs, this really gets the job done when it counts.
To get that far onto the pole, they are going too fast for a parking lot to begin with.
There’s one just like that in fort worth lol.
I thought this was tornado results pics. Wow.
We’ve got our “horror poller” Horror poller news
I ride by this thing on my way too and from work, it was hilarious seeing the fucking thing destroyed AGAIN.
And the ammount of people who ignore all the signs and drove up to it only to awkwardly turn around was way too high lol
It’s probably time to move or redesign your pole if people have run into it that many times. It’s a pole in the middle of a parking lot. If people are hitting it then it’s not visible enough. Repaint it blaze orange.
