One way signs are for OTHER people!

[Polenicus]

This one happened while I was at work in the work vehicle.

Now, a little background. Edmonton downtown area has a river cutting through it, and my route currently straddles the river, so I cross it a couple of times a night at least. There are a number of options to cross, but the ones I tend to use are the 'High Level Bridge' and the 'Low Level Bridge'.

Both are old, converted railway bridges, wide enough for two lanes, and both are one way. High Level Bridge runs North to South, Low Level runs South to North. All of the roads leading to the bridges become one-way LONG before they get anywhere near the bridges themselves, creating a gauntlet of 'Do Not Enter' signs, street lights and signs all facing the wrong way, and oncoming traffic. Going the wrong way on any of these roads would become painfully obvious LONG before you reached the bridge, even at night.

Got it? Good.

This guy apparently didn't.

I was crossing the Low Level Bridge, in the left lane, along with a fair bit of traffic in the right lane, when I suddenly realized the lights ahead of me weren't taillights. They were headlights of a pickup truck, crossing the bridge the wrong way!

Thankfully the traffic beside me let me over without a fuss, because this guy wasn't stopping. He zoomed on by without a pause, to continue across the bridge, and up about six blocks worth of hill, all the wrong way on a one-way street.

Anyone familiar with the area would know the bridge is one way, and I'm not sure how you could FIND the bridge going the wrong way if you weren't, since naturally the only signs you'd see would be those pesky 'Do Not Enter' signs that don't apply to you, and to even get on the appropriate streets you'd have to either start from deep downtown, or turn off a street that's taking you right to ANOTHER bridge that will take you across the same river the way you want to go. So either he's a newbie who stumbled upon it, or he's a local who had a bit more stupid juice than the law allows.

[wolfie]

Just curious, but do these bridges allow all traffic, or only cars? If the former, that idiot is bound to (eventually) encounter the Peterbilt of Natural Selection hauling a load of Darwin Awards.

[dalesys]

I met my first traffic circle in downtown Edmonton. In a rented car.

[HYHYBT]

Possibly an intended suicide?

[Hyndis]

Possibly an intended suicide?

Doubt it. If so there are far more effective ways to do that. If he's already at the bridge why not just jump off?




Going the wrong way on a one-way street is an extremely obvious problem and should be noticed by anyone not blind. I have done this a couple times before when I was unfamiliar with the area, lost, and blundered into a one-way street. Of course, I did realize it within seconds of turning on to the road and instantly went to the shoulder to wait for traffic to be completely clear before turning around.

[bainsidhe]

I did realize it within seconds of turning on to the road and instantly went to the shoulder to wait for traffic to be completely clear before turning around.

As would most people. Not so with my Dad. It literally took a full minute of the entire family shouting "You're going the wrong way on a one-way" (yes, we were in the car!) before he caught on. "You mean this is a one-way?"

Oy.

[Kogarashi]

We went the wrong way down a one-way once, entirely by accident.

Hubby and I were headed up to his grandparents' home in Idaho Falls. Right before we get to their house, there are a bunch of parallel residential streets, all of them one-way and all of them alternating (so 8th would go our way, 9th would be opposite, 10th would be our way, 11th would be opposite, etc.). This is only for the single block between two major streets that run perpendicular to these one-ways. The streets that continue beyond the major streets become two-way. This being our first excursion to visit them, we were unaware of all this.

Somehow we got lost from our driving directions, but found the street they lived on. We started driving down the street, and were halfway down the block when I said, "Wait a minute, all of the parked cars are pointed the wrong way. I think we're going the wrong way down a one-way street." We weren't sure, though, as there were no Do Not Enter signs where we entered the street. Not a one.

Sure enough, though, when we got to the other end of the street, there was the One Way sign, pointed the wrong direction. Oops. Luckily, as I said, it was only one-way for a single block. When traffic on the main road cleared, we crossed to the continuation of their street, where it suddenly became two-way, and were able to find their house.


And then you get the people who think they can go the wrong way down a one-way if they do it in reverse. Saw one around here drive an entire block in reverse so he could go the wrong way down a one-way street.

[protege]

I've seen a few one-way idiots on my street. Until you get to my block, the street is two-way. But, because of the way the street is set up, it goes for an additional two blocks, before turning back on itself. That was done years ago--there's a school around the corner, and the traffic coming out of there is enough to be annoying. Annoying enough, that the residents demanded the borough make the street one-way in that block. Good idea, since it helps the traffic flow better.

Every now and then though, we get idiots who leave the school (which is on a side road, and joins my street halfway around the 'circle)...and apparently don't know what a red-circle-and-slash-over-left-pointy-arrow means. Nor do they understand the "ONE WAY" or "RIGHT TURN ONLY" signs all over the corner, plus the *huge* right-pointy arrow painted on the street, just under the "STOP" stripe

Most of them soon realize their error, when they see a school bus, or another car coming at them in the middle of the road, and will pull over, and turn around. Plus, any cars parked either side, are all facing the 'wrong' way. But, one guy in a dirty red Jeep proved that stupidity knows no bounds!

As I'm coming home one night, he nearly ran me off the road. I screamed "One way street, asshole" as I passed him. Didn't think much about it, until I saw him drive around the circle 3 more times...still going the wrong way

[blas]

I did it once or twice when my family first moved to another city. I had no idea what one-way streets were before that. I quickly learned. And yes, I figured out I was going the wrong way pretty quickly.

The scariest thing that's ever happened to me regarding wrong ways is on the old highway.....now this was when I was 16-18 years old, I still lived at home with my parents and on nights I didn't work or whenever I was bored, I'd go for little drives to the bigger city (where I live now, this was before the new freeway was put in) and it's pretty clear that it's a 4 lane highway, north and southbound.

Two times in a matter of weeks did someone come roaring head-on at me the wrong way. It was not THAT late at night that I was the only one on the road...both idiots didn't even slow down or try to U turn in the medians.....and after avoiding collisions, they both kept going, both times! I will forever just think that they were plastered drunk, there's no way you can be that freaking stupid.

[Kogarashi]

I will forever just think that they were plastered drunk, there's no way you can be that freaking stupid.

Drunk or senile. I know I've heard of confused old people driving the wrong way down highways and causing near-accidents because of it.

[HYHYBT]

Not as bad as going the wrong way on a one-way street, but I've accidentally gotten on the interstate using the HOV entrance. Halfway down the ramp I realized what I'd done, but of course there's no way to undo it. So: I'm not supposed to be in that lane with nobody else in the car, but I'm also not supposed to *leave* that lane because of the double solid line. Which is worse, staying or leaving?

there's no way you can be that freaking stupid.

There is no context in which this statement is true.

[elsporko]

Last summer due to construction a two lane one way street was made into a two way street for a few months.


They must have switched it back while I was doing my laundry because when I left the laundromat I suddenly found myself going the wrong way on a one way street, that I swear was a two way street a few hours earlier.