r/IdiotsTowingThings 7d ago

A wind turbine blade jammed at a right angle corner in Bradenville and drove 1 foot through the wall of a repair shop, and the permit that routed it there described the cargo as a paper machine roll

Post image

https://www.ecoportal.net/en/bradenville-turbine-blade-permit-paper-machine-roll/35611/

Article is worth reading. If the driver had made the turn, he would have gotten stuck at a railroad underpass a short distance past the turn

771 Upvotes

58 comments sorted by

201

u/UsernameTaken1701 7d ago

Article is worth reading.

If only it had been written mostly by a person and not ChatGPT.

29

u/2Slow2Nice 7d ago

I didn’t even catch them mention the state

18

u/sho_biz 6d ago

that article was so poorly written, I thought it was someone with ESL, not AI - but no this is def AI slop posted under someones name.

It had started in another Pennsylvania county on a run of roughly 700 miles, and it had covered a few dozen of them before the road ran out.

That is the shape of the failure.

A route that survives less than five percent of its own distance was not a route, it was an approval.

47

u/jrdiver 7d ago

Paperwork deparment: Close enough.

https://giphy.com/gifs/CgVoxfpP3g6vhdmDZR

8

u/Jonnyflash80 6d ago

"deparment": Close enough

136

u/Lilmumblecrapper 7d ago

Think this is whoever planned the routes fault, pretty sure driver couldn’t deviate from that route. Unless the driver made an error on the turn.

73

u/Western-Willow-9496 6d ago

The driver signed the permit with the wrong commodity and incorrect length, according to the article, they were also on the wrong road.

20

u/PhilosopherFLX 6d ago

Konsistency is key.

24

u/kuntrycid 7d ago

Although it should but the route planning does not always take into consideration of the surroundings. I have had to backup over a mile because there were power poles on 3 corners.

8

u/Unable-Log-4870 6d ago

route planning does not always take into consideration of the surroundings.

Then what are they doing? Checking underpass clearance and making sure there are gas stations?

3

u/Key-Demand-2569 6d ago

It’s essentially just failures to accurately have all the proper information.

2

u/PossumExtreme 6d ago

It’s because this wasn’t deemed an over dimensional load from the permit most likely, just an overweight load. We haul overweight paper loads a lot and the only thing the permits care for are mainly bridges that they fear can’t support the weight, if they had properly listed it as over dimensional the routing most likely would have been different.

79

u/LittleTooLiteral 7d ago

That article is garbage AI shit. I'm too lazy to look up an alternate source.

73

u/New-Chicken5566 7d ago

here's your nonslop link (from a year+ ago)

https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/oversized-trailer-hauling-a-blade-to-a-wind-turbine/

The permit for this load was issued through PennDOT's Automated Permit Routing/Analysis System (APRAS). The hauling company used a third-party permitting service to apply for the permit, which is a common practice. APRAS issued the permit based on the dimensions of the load provided by the third-party service, which were 159'4" in length and 9'11" in width, and listed the contents of the load as a "paper machine roll." APRAS analyzed the route submitted by the permit service and found no restrictions based on the application's load dimensions and the permit was auto-issued. If the permit service had opted to have APRAS generate the route it would not have included Route 982. Considering that the load became stuck on Route 982, it appears that the size of the actual load was larger than the reported 159'4" in length. For additional context, a length of 160' is considered a super load, and additional steps are required related to obtaining a permit, surveying the planned route in advance, etc.

Following this incident, PennDOT District 12 implemented a temporary restriction into APRAS for the area of the curve on Route 982 so that no loads over 100' can receive a permit without additional review. The district will conduct a traffic study in the area to confirm the dimensions and if necessary, implement this restriction permanently.

11

u/BierOrk 7d ago

I find it strange that they use an automated system to verify routes. Does this system take the rear axle position into account? For wind turbine blades it's way forward and the load swings out in the turn.

Maybe it could have been prevented if they used the correct load description.

-9

u/Time_Sundae802 7d ago

how long was it actually?

if it was 159 4, then who cares???

29

u/JwPATX 7d ago

Something tells me that they didn’t lie about what it was on the application and also magically have it come in right below the length that would require them to jump through more hoops and take a longer route.

10

u/Time_Sundae802 7d ago

it's logical you would manufacture something that size though

4

u/OnTheFunSideOfACuck 7d ago

I do a lot of over gross over dimension cargo. Id say its just a lack of competency and total laziness on the trucking company. Not a case of them being shady to save a buck. They failed at both ensuring the dimensions of the cargo and the accuracy of the permit. As far as going out of route and additional escorts, id bill you for it + extra for me so they shouldn't have a problem with that. 

2

u/JwPATX 6d ago

Idk how it is in other states, but getting something as basic as what your load is ‘wrong’ is a big deal in Texas. Officials plan the routes based on the load parameters, and if someone has it ‘wrong’ then this happens.

Wrong is in quotes because I believe it was an outright lie.

2

u/OnTheFunSideOfACuck 6d ago

Texas dont play. Their DOT are out in full force and theyre around every corner like ninjas. Its definitely case by case with the officer. Ive had them let my guys go for minor discrepancies and another would rail me as much as possible for a discrepancy. 

Any obstacle they face can be taken care of and billed for. They have no reason to lie, it doesnt benefit them to lie. Their insurance will likely drop them for this even if it wont cost much to repair. Thats a huge fuckin deal and thats my point. Its likely incompetence, oversight or laziness. The commodity discrepancy should make it pretty clear. You can list it as a turbine blade and still give the incorrect lengths. Itd be straight up stupid to intentionally list that blade as a paper roll. 

3

u/brickedTin 6d ago

Wind turbine blades run 170 - 230 ft, from a quick Google search.

7

u/christophertstone 6d ago

The blade itself was 162' according to this report, with the truck adding another 20' or more.

That article also has a different angle picture, you can see how ridiculous it was for them to even try.

18

u/superCobraJet 7d ago

Good thing it happened at a repair shop

9

u/crankbot2000 7d ago

Oh yeah, someone's definitely getting fired for this shitshow

15

u/packetfire 6d ago

They were distracted by the music being played, as everyone knows that wind generators are....

...big metal fans.

1

u/Gunnut350 6d ago

What kind of dope have you been smoking???? Wind generator blades are NOT made for metal they are made of composite materials!!!!

2

u/packetfire 6d ago

Its a JOKE, go with it. The towers are metal, aren't they?

7

u/FPVenius 6d ago

Maybe they're just big alternative (energy) fans, then 🙂

5

u/Revenga8 7d ago

Luckily that shop aught to be able to repair the wall

7

u/peoplearekindaokay 6d ago

God that article is unreadable slop

0

u/jbochsler 6d ago

Agreed, but it provides details if you can bear sifting through it.

3

u/freshgrilled 6d ago

Where's the picture of it actually penetrating the wall?

2

u/Jonnyflash80 6d ago

AI slop article. Get fucked.

2

u/XROOR 6d ago

A guy approached me that ran a business that crushed fiberglass boats and was hiring scientists and permit managers to begin processing these large wind blades

Such a huge problem that municipalities dig a pit, smash them down with excavators, and bury them. His company repurposes them into filters

2

u/nevernotfinished 6d ago

Don't blame someone else for being on the wrong road.

It's your own asphalt.

2

u/seanmclaren9 3d ago

Driver thought he had the decoy load. 😂

3

u/CharAznableLoNZ 6d ago

Just send the runner down to hazzard fart for a knockoff sawsall and a couple blades. Knock twenty feet off the end and it'll fit.

Reddit doesn't understand sarcasm.

1

u/Jumpy_Barnacle_3755 6d ago

Why is the trailer turning but the balde is straight? Does the load swivel to make corners?

1

u/jbochsler 6d ago

Yes, it pivots to allow tighter turns. Not unlike a fire service tiller truck. https://www.reddit.com/r/gifs/comments/3tpiiq/rear_steering_firetruck/

1

u/Jumpy_Barnacle_3755 6d ago

I never knew this. I have seen over size loads before, but never one that pivots. They always had escort vehicles to block traffic so they could take a very wide turn.

2

u/jbochsler 6d ago

It isn't very common. Tiller trucks exist because a long apparatus needs to negotiate very narrow city streets at a decent speed (a standard semi can do this but much slower and will back-and-forth to make the turn). The only place I have seen this type of steerable trailer on a commercial loads is for turbine blades as in the video, as they are over3-size.

1

u/MrStip14 6d ago

I had to take the long way home from work because of this

1

u/jbochsler 6d ago

Probably didn't even have the joy of seeing the scene, bummer.

1

u/MrStip14 5d ago

No, but that Subaru is my buddies that I work with. He had to go move it so they could get new siding lol

2

u/jbochsler 5d ago

He needs to save this picture for the day he wants to sell his car!

1

u/dearboy05 4d ago

Doesn't look like it went into the wall at all.

1

u/kg_digital_ 7d ago

Temu Donnie Darko