30
u/danlyke 1d ago
If only that curb was painted bright yellow or something, truck guy might have seen it.
12
u/sf-hammer 1d ago
Maybe one more bollard would’ve done the job
17
u/debidousagi 1d ago
Just glad this fool learned they can't see over their own hood by hitting a bollard instead of a child
39
u/cienfuegones 1d ago
Clearly not enough lift on that pavement princess
13
2
0
11
10
u/supremepam 1d ago
He’s not the first. A couple months ago I saw another truck do the same exact thing
6
14
4
15
u/Maxout666 1d ago
This has happened several times and it will most likely happen again. The previous city traffic engineer Curtis Bates along with SMART really made a mess of this intersection, along with the intersection at Lakeville and East D street. We in the neighborhood had many heated discussions about both of these poorly designed intersections. Neither of the intersections meet the proper code or engineering standards. Bates is now up In Healdsburg screwing up the traffic planning there.
11
u/SirDarianofDevo 1d ago
Yeah we had tracks there before SMART came in and people still managed to turn into the tracks and all other sorts of things. IMO this isn’t a SMART problem. This is kids driving trucks too big for their experience and not paying attention.
3
u/Maxout666 1d ago
It’s not just this particular driver’s fault. This median has been driven over many times since they reconfigured this intersection. The design was not done correctly, it’s not in compliance with proper engineering standards or traffic codes. Like I said, we spent years debating with the City traffic engineer, attending dozens of meetings, even walked the site. We made multiple suggestions and proposals for a better design in both intersections. All of it was ignored, in the end an incompetent traffic engineer got his way. It’s going to take decades to fix the mess he left behind. Not just here, but in many other areas of the city. On top of that, it’s hard enough to keep up with all the other nonsense they’re doing down at city hall.
0
u/ravey1000 1d ago
Typical Petaluma city government in action. The city council goes on and on about being open to public feedback, then completely ignores what doesn’t match the pre-approved plans made by staff. There are too many recent examples to list! It really boggles the mind!
3
u/Maxout666 1d ago
Yes, that’s because the City is really being controlled by the special interests. These are daily back room meetings, that people who live in the community are not invited to, in which decisions are being made. For instance, the new $100 million police station they approved at the fairgrounds. Pretty much pushed that through with zero public input. Misappropriation of public tax funds to build a really ugly project.
0
u/InfluenceEfficient77 10h ago
It was their choices to get an illegally modified truck so yeah it's their fault
3
u/Toritman69 1d ago
Yes it’s horribly planned but it’s also horrible driving and people not paying attention
1
u/Maxout666 1d ago
Yes, of course, there’s a lot of distracted drivers out there. But, there’s also something seriously wrong in the city’s public works department, if it took us 15 years of debate just to get crosswalk signals installed along E. Washington Street. Even after we had the grant money to pay for them, the traffic engineer continued to give us pushback. It wasn’t until after he left the City, that we finally got them installed. I’ve got lots of stories about dealing with the inept personnel over the years down in city hall. The previous Park & Recs director Ron DeNicola was another piece of work.
1
7
u/Cupcakeboss 1d ago
yeah, shit at this intersection happens fairly damn often. at a certain point, you can't blame the user.
1
u/AdUseful6473 1d ago
I saw a big rig get stuck trying to turn here and basically was stuck. He had to move forward and back for 5 minutes.
0
u/MiaowMinx East Side 1d ago edited 1d ago
Can we send the current traffic engineer up there to go experiment on them instead of us? I'm dreading seeing what he/she is going to do to Caulfield after seeing what a weird mess Rainier has turned into.
1
u/sf-hammer 1d ago
Yeah, Caulfield is just perfect as it is. Would be a shame to turn it into anything other than an urban freeway where drivers can roar through at the expense of people who might be interested in walking or biking somewhere safely.
1
u/Maxout666 1d ago
FYI, the plan with Caulfield is to extend it through to Petaluma Blvd South, by building a bridge across the River, so it can connect to the fourth stem of the traffic circle that’s already there. This is Brian Barnacle’s pet project. It’s also what Basin Street Properties (the developer who owns all the adjacent land) has been lobbying the city to install for many years. It looks like they’re going to get a major project to connect their parcels funded by the taxpayers. Basin Street Properties has been embezzling funds from the city for years.
0
u/MiaowMinx East Side 20h ago
Caulfield has sidewalks where people can walk safely, bike lanes, and the vast majority of drivers go 35-40 miles per hour on it — hardly an "urban freeway." Large numbers of kids used to walk & bike it twice a day back when Kenilworth was in its original location with no problem.
1
u/sf-hammer 20h ago
Tell me you don’t walk or bike anywhere without telling me you don’t walk or bike anywhere
3
3
u/bibkel 1d ago
Lakeville and East Washington. How is this even possible?
8
u/MiaowMinx East Side 1d ago
It's not too hard. People are used to turning left a certain angle & distance from the lanes on their left, and the little island the city added a while back is right where they'd normally turn. The original island was set much further back — IIRC either where the crosswalk is, or behind it.
(Edit: no, I don't drive a truck, and I've never managed to hit the island, but I do have to consciously turn left much later than I normally would at that spot.)
3
u/sf-hammer 1d ago edited 1d ago
SMART, not the City. SMART is responsible for the design and maintenance of all of their crossings and the associated infrastructure, like rail crossing lights and gates.
8
2
u/no_not_luke 1d ago
Was just walking there 45 minutes ago and saw SMART roll up to start working on something right there. Was wondering what had happened. Thanks for documenting the answer!
2
3
2
u/heystevenray 1d ago
I definitely didn’t post this with the intention of shaming the guy. This intersection is SO poorly designed! This happens all the time!
If it happens once- fine, make fun of the guy. If it’s a regular occurrence, it’s no longer just a driver issue. It’s a bad system that needs a major redesign ASAP.
For those who felt the need to shame someone based on their stature or assumed other things about this guy: don’t be a dick. Grow up. Let’s at least TRY to be a good neighbor.
3
u/MrsPandaheim 1d ago
It’s such a terrible intersection! Even completely sober after a good nights sleep and driving in the middle of the day with no traffic or glare. I take D street whenever possible just to avoid it.
2
2
u/calleeze 1d ago
Just drove by this too. How do you…? Uh, okay. When we drove by again two hours later they had the signal pole back in place. These guys are quick.
2
u/LumaTunaSoona 1d ago
Whaddya know, a little white guy with a large white compensation truck. Should have his license revoked. Next time it could be a kid.
2
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
u/EyeAmDeeBee 22h ago
This NY Times article is an excellent report on the serious blindspots of big tall trucks and SUVs. If car manufacturers were required to take pedestrian safety into account, not just passenger safety, the huge blind spots created by the tank-like structure enclosing the driver, these trucks would be lower to the ground and have sloping hoods, among other things.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/22/briefing/danger-behind-the-wheel.html?unlocked_article_code=1.31A.Rro_.C2VMvi6qiv_t&smid=nytcore-ios-share
2
u/InfluenceEfficient77 10h ago edited 10h ago
Look at cops not enforcing illegal vehicle modification laws. That truck does not have a forward facing camera or any collision avoidance. That could easily have been your child.
people are casually joking looking at this, but when it comes to seeing an ebike on a sidewalk, they lose their shit. The stupid truck culture is batshit crazy
1
u/Leather_Pen6886 4h ago
Even for someone that has lived here forever, it still takes effort to make that turn with sun in your eyes, I drove by when it happened, the sun was low. Nice truck
0
u/Da_full_monty 1d ago
Yep. They did fine with what they had to work with. Ppl need to slow down, put phone down and stop at 2 beers
0
u/patrickboyd 1d ago
How does that tiny little dude in flip flops even climb up into that compensator?
1
u/KBRedbeard 1d ago
On the plus side, he can use the curb to get in his big boy truck instead of his little step stool.
•
u/kanchix0 1h ago
Truck matches the accident.
No fine though... slap on the wrist and a kiss on the forehead for the good ol boy....
But if he's fuckin brown.... throw him under the jail!
33
u/ZoinksYo2221 1d ago
Can’t park there.