Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong

coldsteelva · Mar 20, 2019

Is that prison laundry?

California · Mar 20, 2019

coldsteelva said:
Is that prison laundry?

"A man driving through Sacramento on Saturday evening had a comically large and unsafe pile of bags barely roped atop the bed and roof of his pickup truck as he drove at freeway speeds, prompting a stop by California Highway Patrol.

"After spotting the driver and pulling him over into a parking lot off the freeway, a CHP motorcycle cop snapped a photo showing the vehicle with at least 22 bulky garbage bags strapped on top.

"The bags contained empty bottles and cans, CHP said, presumably en route to a recycling center.
The shocked officer issued necessary citations, then had the driver unload the bags until he could find a more legal form of transportation.

"CHP says the load posed a high risk of dropping onto the roadway. The Great Pyramid of Recyclables more than doubled the height of the pickup truck, leaving the driver to barely clear overpasses on the freeway.

"Read more here: CHP pulls over driver with huge pile of bags

lilranch2001 · Mar 20, 2019

Last year I spent a huge portion of my year in the east bay area, and traveling east away from San Fran the first time, I was shocked how much trash (especially discarded mattresses) was along the road sides.
For the state that is so bent on changing the rules that the rest of the states live by, there sure was a HEII of a lot of trash.

California · Mar 20, 2019

lilranch2001 said:
Last year I spent a huge portion of my year in the east bay area, and traveling east away from San Fran the first time, I was shocked how much trash (especially discarded mattresses) was along the road sides.
For the state that is so bent on changing the rules that the rest of the states live by, there sure was a HEII of a lot of trash.

My wife worked 30 years in Caltrans budgeting. She said the Maintenance Division's trash pickup fund was the first thing raided when something else - flood damage, a weakened bridge, whatever, suddenly beacame an emergency priority. That was in addition to new construction always having funding priority over maintaining infrastructure already built.

Crazy priorities, for sure, but the Department had to be responsive to priorities dictated by the public via the legislature.

Believe it or not California government runs pretty lean, fewer government employees in proportion to population etc compared to other states. So every program is continually competing for the available funds.

Your Tax Dollars At Work!

ultrarunner · Mar 21, 2019

lilranch2001 said:
Last year I spent a huge portion of my year in the east bay area, and traveling east away from San Fran the first time, I was shocked how much trash (especially discarded mattresses) was along the road sides.
For the state that is so bent on changing the rules that the rest of the states live by, there sure was a HEII of a lot of trash.

Sad but true in my limited experience some people simply use the roadways as a public dump... part of the "Justification" is the very high tipping fees at transfer stations... so find a dark corner or late at night and dump... all manor of trash from engine blocks, boats, mattresses, paints, appliances, etc.

The hospital parking lot yields about one 5 gallon trash container per acre overnight... diapers, paints, motor oil, liquor bottles and tons of fast food rubbish...

Contrast that to Olympia WA where the roadways are markedly cleaner but pull off 25-50 yards into a forested area and I was shocked at the trash... appliances, furniture, etc...

Jstpssng · Mar 22, 2019

ultrarunner said:
Sad but true in my limited experience some people simply use the roadways as a public dump... part of the "Justification" is the very high tipping fees at transfer stations... so find a dark corner or late at night and dump... all manor of trash from engine blocks, boats, mattresses, paints, appliances, etc.

The hospital parking lot yields about one 5 gallon trash container per acre overnight... diapers, paints, motor oil, liquor bottles and tons of fast food rubbish...

Contrast that to Olympia WA where the roadways are markedly cleaner but pull off 25-50 yards into a forested area and I was shocked at the trash... appliances, furniture, etc...

\

I think that's common. I drove down one road outside of town and counted 13 refrigerators, as well washers, dryers, stoves, et.al.; the direct result of charging a $15 disposal fee. One good thing about the high price of scrap a few years ago; along with what they stole, scrappers also cleaned a lot of old appliances up.
It's too bad that somebody can't find a widespread use of tires; they're dumped everywhere.
One major landowner down in southern Maine was having problems with tanker trucks of old engine oil and dump truck loads of demolition debris coming all of the way from Massachusetts to dump on their land.

Diggin It · Mar 22, 2019

Jstpssng said:
It's too bad that somebody can't find a widespread use of tires; they're dumped everywhere.

Mulch. They're grinding them up and using them as much. You can get it at some Big Box stores, or in bulk in some areas. They also offer it for bases for playgrounds. I've heard some areas add it into asphalt for roadways too.

coldsteelva · Mar 22, 2019

Crumb rubber from ground up tires is falling out of favor. It has been used for years to pad and set artificial turf playing fields, but now folks are getting concerned with the effects of exposure. High school football, lacrosse, field hockey, soccer, etc. Mixed into asphalt roads is a fantastic use; VDOT does that here in VA. It increases the coefficient of friction (traction) and actually makes the roadway quieter, by reducing the harmonic from the tires on the road.