"Can Opener" Bridge Keeps Claiming Dumb People, Despite It Being Raised

A classic "Penske Peel" at the infamous 11 foot 8 bridge in Durham,
North Carolina. They recently raised the bridge by eight inches, so now
it's the 11 foot 8+8 bridge. Still, dumb people are still crashing into it. 

There's a train tressle in Durham,  North Carolina with a street going under it.  I'm an absolutely huge fan of it.

The span was always known as the 11 foot 8 bridge, as that was the distance between the pavement on the street and the bottom of the bridge.

The bridge became an internet celebrity over the past decade or so due to the extremely high number of trucks that got their tops ripped off because truck drivers insisted on trying to make it under the span, despite the fact they couldn't fit.

This, despite all kinds of signs and sensor-triggered flashing lights and "Overheight Must Turn" signage that told truck drivers they won't fit under the bridge so stop. They'd keep going anyway, with disastrous results.

People in a nearby building have dutifully documented the carnage over the years with a surveillance camera.  It's turned into an extremely popular YouTube site.

I confess I was a little crushed, pardon the pun, when the fine people of Durham decided to raise the bridge by eight inches in the hopes of stopping this stupidity.   I get it that the overheight crashes were a pain in the ass for Durham police, public works and all that.

But I figured the idiot truck drivers deserved the public shame of crashing into this bridge an I hoped it would continue.

I, and many other people thought it was the end of the fun videos associated with the 11 foot 8 bridge.

But nope! It's now the 11 foot 8+8 bridge and people are still, gloriously crashing into it. Granted, the raised height of the bridge means the crashes aren't quite as dramatic as they used to be. But happily, they continue.

So here's to the stupid truck drivers everywhere who insist on crashing into things they need not crash into!

Videos of recent crashes of the 11 foot 8+8 bridge here:

First one is a piece of furniture being knocked off a truck on December 19. It features the walk of shame of the driver who had to retrieve it:



Then, we have the ever-popular "Penske Peel" with the top of a Penske rental truck being damaged. Penske peels have always been popular here: