Here's a Caltrans owned light pole at a surface street intersection with a freeway ramp right by CA 134 in Glendale. The fixture's slipfitter was still on the arm. The breakaway slip base was still attached to the 4 bolt pole base.
@Mike, if there is no breakaway design present, it is more likely the concrete electrolier will be damaged in a roadkill and it will result in more costly repairs. Breakaway mounts are designed for a simple and quick reinstallation, and since California uses steel light poles they sometimes are in good enough a shape to be reused, this pole might be reused.
Another roadkill just now! While waiting for my order at In n out Burger I am watching some crews remove a knocked down light pole. The pole was a concrete type and the car was badly dented right in the middle up front. Scary!
Sure breakaway bases in highways where there is no other traffic may be a good idea, but in crowded cities they are going to cause more damage than it is worth. And I have no sympathy for the idiots the tend to crash into lights, sure there may be the odd mistake but most of the time it is plain stupidity.
Yes, well Jace, people who get into crashes are generally not paying attention, talking on their cell phones, or texting and are likely to do it again, so quite honestly, maybe using non-breakaway poles will teach them something. Break away poles are just caitering to bad drivers. If we didn't have breakaway poles to protect bad drivers, there wouldn't be any bad drivers on the road hence the roads will be safer.
Mike, think about it. Why are there laws requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets and why cars have seatbelts? Is it to keep drunk drivers and/or innocent people from being killed or is it a way for the government to avoid paying your medical and therapy expenses if you don't have insurance? (Hospitals are required to accept patients if they are gravely injured or ill, regardless of insurance).
What does the government care? The money they spend to pay for peoples' insurance, etc comes from taxpayers, not from their wallets . I understand that they have specific guidlines for motorists to follow and standards for engineers to follow and I never said that breakaways weren't useful. I personally don't like them.
Mike, if the government intentionally designed poles to weed out the drivers that hit them, they would be
found liable for the deaths and injuries that resulted from that so to them a $9000 light pole is nothing compared to any lawsuits that would result because they used non breakaway pole.
Well, politics doesn't have anything to do with poles. You guys are so hiped up over one comment. It's not like i'm baning break away poles. i stated my opinion and that's that.
"If we didn't have breakaway poles to protect bad drivers, there wouldn't be any bad drivers on the road hence the roads will be safer." has nothing to do with the govenment at all. And the second quote was in response to Dave's comment.
Keep that in mind guys, everyone has the right to have his opinion, and we all have the right to debate about our opinions, as long as it stays polite and civilized.
Personally I am not very strict with you guys going off-topic, some admins on other forums (not necessarily talking about lighting forums) are WAY more severe! I absolutely have no problem with civilized debates. ^_^
Maryland State actually uses the transformer base breakways....all of them pretty much! Dave (Silverliner14B) always tells me "I've noticed MD state likes to use remote ballast style breakways" hehehe Also around here I notice most of the time the road kill tends to happen to the ones NEAREST the off ramps on the highway....and most often happens on bad weather days...
It wasn't too long ago I had an accident, I crashed to a curb on the same day the hurricane came....Hurricane Irene....I was trying to make a curve turn but my car instead crashed to the curb instead of making a turn......the most dangerous times to drive is actually when the road is SLIGHTLY wet...not SOAKED!
Now if I hit a pole, I would be THANKFUL there was a breakaway base! Because if I did crash a pole without a breakway base....Good Bye Admin Jace....
Michael...you may understand better once you drive, because driving isn't exactly as easy as it sounds, sometimes you have to watch yourself to being careful...it can be easy to getting carried away while driving (I didn't think so before I drove).....When you drive...YOU WILL have an ACCIDENT......even the best drivers in the world have had accidents! What if you somehow got sick while driving and PASSED out, out of NOWHERE and suddenly your car heads to the pole? When you wake up, you will be THANKFUL that there was a breakway pole!!!!!
I know someone who died of a heart attack in the drivers seat.....gladly his car wasn't moving...although it was running! You COULD pass out in a drivers seat without a warning!!!
Login
Mike, if the government intentionally designed poles to weed out the drivers that hit them, they would be
found liable for the deaths and injuries that resulted from that so to them a $9000 light pole is nothing compared to any lawsuits that would result because they used non breakaway pole.
"If we didn't have breakaway poles to protect bad drivers, there wouldn't be any bad drivers on the road hence the roads will be safer."
"What does the government care? The money they spend to pay for peoples' insurance, etc comes from taxpayers, not from their wallets"
Personally I am not very strict with you guys going off-topic, some admins on other forums (not necessarily talking about lighting forums) are WAY more severe! I absolutely have no problem with civilized debates. ^_^
It wasn't too long ago I had an accident, I crashed to a curb on the same day the hurricane came....Hurricane Irene....I was trying to make a curve turn but my car instead crashed to the curb instead of making a turn......the most dangerous times to drive is actually when the road is SLIGHTLY wet...not SOAKED!
Now if I hit a pole, I would be THANKFUL there was a breakaway base! Because if I did crash a pole without a breakway base....Good Bye Admin Jace....
Michael...you may understand better once you drive, because driving isn't exactly as easy as it sounds, sometimes you have to watch yourself to being careful...it can be easy to getting carried away while driving (I didn't think so before I drove).....When you drive...YOU WILL have an ACCIDENT......even the best drivers in the world have had accidents! What if you somehow got sick while driving and PASSED out, out of NOWHERE and suddenly your car heads to the pole? When you wake up, you will be THANKFUL that there was a breakway pole!!!!!
I know someone who died of a heart attack in the drivers seat.....gladly his car wasn't moving...although it was running! You COULD pass out in a drivers seat without a warning!!!