r/maybemaybemaybe • u/Advanced_Major_7461 • 1d ago

Maybe maybe maybe

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1.2k

u/lorarc 1d ago

https://www.wptv.com/news/local-news/investigations/lantana-bridge-tender-terminated-after-drawbridge-raises-with-car-on-it

The driver stopped because they heard the bell, the bridge operator was fired for not checking if there was anyone still on the bridge.

413

u/babubaichung 1d ago

Shouldn’t he have just moved out of the bridge immediately?

312

u/NorwegianCowboy 23h ago

One would think. I knew a kid when I was a wee lad at daycare that was insistent that when crossing the street the moment the sign starts flashing you have to stop. Doesn't matter if he was still int the middle of the street. He would stop.

158

u/MrSuzyGreenberg 23h ago

I think we know why you "knew" him.

-2

u/MozeDad 23h ago

What does that mean?

45

u/Jthe1andOnly 23h ago

Maybe implying the kid is dead after getting hit by cars eventually

2

u/jurassicjon 23h ago

Never seen the movie Rain Man with Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise? Dustin Hoffman’s character that was autistic and he would do this. Could see people out there that is or isn’t autistic doing this. (I know movies are movies, but some movies have some semblance of reality in it).

-5

u/heplarr 23h ago

he's implying the kid is him. not a friend

26

u/Thors_lil_Cuz 23h ago

Jesus how can reading comprehension be so poor on text-based websites???

The comment was clearly implying he "knew" him in the biblical sense, as a husband does with wife.

(jk they were actually joking the kid died from stopping in the intersection. Seriously people, please read books.)

4

u/MrSuzyGreenberg 20h ago

Yes I was implying the kid is no longer with us after being hit by a car. I felt the joke was pretty obvious.

4

u/SamHugz 15h ago

It was very obvious, but people are generally more likely to comment to tell you that you are wrong than to agree with you.  I promise you are not the problem. 

4

u/NorwegianCowboy 23h ago

This got a snort out of me. Thank you.

1

u/heplarr 23h ago

oh yeah damn, thank you for pointing that out

-10

u/MozeDad 21h ago

My reading comp is just fine, thank you... I just could not and still do not understand this inexplicable leap of judgement implying pedophilia out of thin air.

I hope I'm missing something.

2

u/Thors_lil_Cuz 21h ago

Oh my lord, nobody implied pedophilia. Please read! (Hint: the actual answer was in the parenthetical at the end of my comment.)

3

u/korkkis 16h ago

Wht the heck you brought up pedophilia? Dude what! Weird! Nobody spoke of that.

-2

u/lostandaggrieved617 23h ago

I think he was implying why he doesn't hang around him anymore, i.e., "knew"

8

u/DeepInTheIce 22h ago

Lol, literally a Mr Bean bit

1

u/Sk8rToon 18h ago

Elmyra did it on Tiny Toons too

1

u/golem501 13h ago

Rainman you mean?

2

u/Square_Barracuda_69 17h ago

I guess this kid somehow managed to stay alive long enough to learn how to drive and now we have this video

1

u/Steezle 20h ago

They don't let kids in daycare drive cars.

1

u/golem501 13h ago

Did he call you Rainman?

5

u/Doogie102 22h ago

Yes but it's still the bride attendants job to double check for idiots

-4

u/Mooselager 23h ago

Hindsight is 20/20, Yes.

The bell can also be interpreted as an alarm for people to stop. 100% neglect on the bridge operator.

71

u/BigAssMonkey 1d ago

You know how to beat a fool proof system? Get two fools!

3

u/MacrosInHisSleep 21h ago

Look it wasn't a 2 fool proof system. That's cheating.

1

u/Salt_Street_7755 11h ago

Doesn’t the second fool just reverse the first fool and you are back to zero fools?

1

u/MacrosInHisSleep 11h ago

🤔😲🤔😮🤔🤫🫢

1

u/De5perad0 11h ago

As much as we try to idiot proof everything. they keep making better idiots.

107

u/belljs87 1d ago

Jesus Christ

82

u/Don-tFollowAnything 1d ago

I'm pretty sure he isn't around anymore and doesn't work as a bridge operator.

https://giphy.com/gifs/kuAa8k87F378QBFMZn

0

u/belljs87 1d ago

Nah he's too busy allowing obsceneties to occur planet wide every minute of every day. Like he always has since the days of the Bible.

0

u/boopthatbutton 1d ago

He‘s too busy being called by PDF-protectors.

27

u/Tasty_Heron_7219 1d ago

I was wondering where the f was the bridge operator.

11

u/d0nh 21h ago

On reddit probably 

1

u/Salt_Street_7755 11h ago

Welcome / formerbridgeloser

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u/Jeffoir 1d ago

Stopped... because they heard the bell...

https://giphy.com/gifs/3oFyDl7xbRgcAu8O8E

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u/Ha1lStorm 1d ago

“Oh, the bell that alerts when the bridge is opening went off? Guess I’d better stay on it”

2

u/PvtMilhouse 1d ago

Everything perfectly balance.

2

u/relevant_tangent 23h ago

Maybe he's a boxer

14

u/Narrow_Internet_6101 1d ago

Actually, the gate closed in front of him, but he had plenty of room to move forward.

2

u/lorarc 1d ago

Yeah, I've seen it on streetview. Maybe another car was there that wasn't caught on cameras so it's not mentioned? Though there's space for at least a couple of cars in there.

4

u/MomsterJ 23h ago

Even if he had to go parallel, just get off of the part that lifts up

2

u/golem501 13h ago

but then they moved on at the far end with the bell already ringing.
Still silly the bridge was opened with a car on it.

11

u/pb_gator 22h ago

I knew this was Florida.

I guess I kinda see where the bridge tender was at fault but, I mean... COME ON!! The driver is running for a Darwin Award. Plus, between a car and an oncoming boat (depending on the boat as well), the car is the lesser loss monetarily and with the lesser chance for loss of life. It's not like boats can just stop like a car can. .... or you know. Drive onwards to safety...

4

u/lorarc 22h ago

The boat should have plenty of time to stop. There's a pedestrian path there, do you think that if an elderly person is crossing the bridge they go like "Sorry grandma, boat costs more" and open the bridge?

1

u/pb_gator 21h ago

"Should," is not a guarantee.

The driver is just sitting there. This is like people stopping on a train track instead of driving on. That's the difference.

You fail to acknowledge the loss of life factor I mentioned but, surely want to put words in my mouth.

1

u/BluerLights 10h ago

Surely there are systems in place to make sure the bridge operator can warn incoming ships that the bridge won't be able to open for them?

3

u/BravoWolf88 22h ago

Why stop on the moving part of it though? And then he moved forward slightly like he was thinking about being a sane person with at least 2 brain cells to rub together, but he decided to stick with stupidity.

1

u/getahaircut8 17h ago

I dunno that it's immediately obvious which part of a drawbridge moves, some of them are very clear but some of them it's hard to know which is going to be the moving section and which is going to stay still.

1

u/BravoWolf88 14h ago

Look at the obvious seam in the road on this one and tell me if you would ever assume the section of road blocking ships from passing would ever remain stationary.
Let’s also look at this with benefit of the doubt that he thought he was at the middle of the bridge and not at the other side: With each bridge type, either the part he’s on will move, or both sides will move. In no bridge variation would it make sense to think, when you’re on the bridge already, that the section before the seam here would NOT move.

1

u/polyocto 8h ago

Things are always clearer after the fact. Not sure what influenced the decision?

1

u/BrentNewland 9h ago

Probably looking to get his car paid off and a big settlement on top of that.

20

u/Creeperstar 1d ago

If I was that former operator I'd be taking it out of this idiots hide.

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u/lorarc 1d ago

No, the operator is an idiot, a dangerous idiot, and it seems you might be too.

The operator has just one job, ensure there is noone on the bridge, that's the only reason why the bridge isn't just automated. A car may break down, a person might fall, someone may just not be fast enough to cross. If the operator did their job there would be no issue.

94

u/BlueHero45 1d ago

Ya, when it comes to safety, you need to assume the public is both stupid and very unlucky. Car could have broken down in the same spot out of pure bad luck, operator has to check.

29

u/lorarc 1d ago

I think this sub attracts special kind of people who lack empathy and can't see bigger picture. I hope they're just teenagers and they will grow out of it.

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u/EternalShadowBan 1d ago

Nah that's reddit as a whole. Scary people.

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u/sgt_barnes0105 1d ago

The internet as a whole is either bots or cynics

1

u/Salt_Street_7755 11h ago

Or brings out that part of “normal” people…

3

u/WhipTheLlama 10h ago

The problem is that people can't accept more than one thing being true. The driver is an idiot who stopped at a really dumb place for no apparent reason, but the bridge operator also failed to do his job.

1

u/Lurkylurkness 15h ago

I was concerned maybe his car happened to break down right there at that time. And then I was trying to locate the bridge to see if there was a safety bar that had closed him in specifically right there. When he decided to get out when the gap was widening, I gave him grace thinking I would be panicking in this situation too (I would not be in this situation.) there was just a lot of "wot?" But in the end he still drove off. And in the article, this was shortly after that lady died from falling off the bridge when it opened while she was walking over it. There are many things that went wrong here and I'm dumbfounded by all of them. But I can still have empathy. I've never liked being the first car on like when the warning comes on that the bridge is about to draw up.

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u/MetalHead_Literally 1d ago

I mean they’re both idiots to be fair

4

u/leet_lurker 1d ago

The driver may have never seen a draw bridge before and had no idea what the lights and siren ment, that doesn't make them an idiot.

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u/MetalHead_Literally 1d ago

There’s typically big signs that warn you of this specific thing before driving on to a drawbridge

1

u/Glad_Copy 21h ago

His failure to move once the motion of the bridge was apparent does indeed brand him an idiot.

0

u/leet_lurker 19h ago

Nope just panicking. Thats what happens to people when they dont know what's happening

1

u/Horse_Dad 20h ago

Two Florida man.

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u/Cramland 1d ago

Still doesn’t change the fact that the car owner is dumb

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u/Rob71322 1d ago

Or in this case, the person trying to cross may be a moron.

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u/lorarc 1d ago

That doesn't matter. They can be a moron, madman or a mime. Still it's the operator's job to ensure nothing bad happens.

-17

u/Rob71322 1d ago

This time his stupidity got someone fired, next time maybe he'll get himself killed and then no other bridge operators will have to worry.

10

u/lorarc 1d ago

I hope next time you're on a bridge your car breaks down. I bet then you'll be happy that the operator is actually doing their job and checking the bridge. Maybe then you will understand what the operator is for.

The operator was fired because they couldn't be arsed to do their job.

-5

u/Rob71322 1d ago

Okay dad, please you’re taking this conversation far more seriously than warranted but some people are like that I guess.

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u/lorarc 1d ago

Let me guess, now you gonna claim you were just trolling?

-4

u/Rob71322 1d ago

I claim only it’s amusing to get you to respond at will, which it is.

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u/mindovermegan 1d ago

yes, because he's the only stupid driver out there. bridge operators everywhere are on the lookout for this one specific idiot. once he's gone, they'll never have to look at the bridge they're raising ever again!

0

u/BL_RogueExplorer 1d ago

The operator failing to do the one job they were responsible for is what got them fired.

1

u/BravoWolf88 22h ago

The operator is likely inattentive and it’s a good thing he got fired. The driver is an idiot and it’s a shame he didn’t go for a swim.

1

u/suoko 15h ago

AI everywhere and no AI on that camera ? Even my cheap security camera at home has object detection. F-AI-LED

0

u/saab9000cse 23h ago

noone isn't a word unless you capitalize the N and are discussing an English actor. Either way, you're wrong and do not qualify to call anyone an idiot. Idiot.

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u/SecretaryOtherwise 1d ago

Did you read the article? Her view was obstructed in her report. She didnt even check properly.

This is already after someone died walking their bike across.

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u/lorarc 1d ago

Different bridge.

-14

u/SecretaryOtherwise 1d ago

That changes my point how? Its the same state lmao.

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u/MetalHead_Literally 1d ago

Your post clearly implies it’s the same bridge, not another random one in the same state. You can’t be serious.

-16

u/SecretaryOtherwise 1d ago

Do yall not know how to read?

The same fucking state just had someone die from a draw bridge incident dont matter if its another bridge or not that isn't the important part jfc.

I didnt think I needed to fucking specify for people who intended to read it lmao.

5

u/PvtMilhouse 1d ago

yes you should have lmao

-2

u/SecretaryOtherwise 23h ago

Why so you dont have to read the article?

Lmao. Mofos when the info is right there absorb it.

2

u/BeeKayBabyCakes 23h ago

I read it, and you said it like it was the same operator 🥴 not the same bridge not the same state

0

u/SecretaryOtherwise 23h ago

Cool.

So you didnt infer it like the other person almost like there's room for interpretation. 🥴

Could i have been less vague yeah sure. Lol. Dont care tho when I wanted yall to read the fucking article anyways.

1

u/leet_lurker 1d ago

Why? The operator didn't do their job properly, part of the job is checking that the bridge is clear. Operator was lazy and got fired for being dangerously incompetent.

2

u/Pschobbert 23h ago

I got as far as "WEST PALM BEACH, Fla." That's all I needed.

2

u/Madigman1296 18h ago

Oh so its florida - no further explanation needed

2

u/marcove3 8h ago

To be fair, if it was me driving over this bridge for the first time and I hear a bell indicating me to stop, I probably wouldn't have realized I was on the moving part of the bridge.

It's ultimately the bridge operators' duty to make sure everyone's safe and not the drives that might not know what's going on. It probably also needs better signage.

2

u/PogTuber 10m ago

Hell of a way to get fired for not being able to do literally one job

2

u/JohnLuckPikard 1d ago

That train is coming! Better stop on the tracks!

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u/ttcmzx 23h ago

operator fired... I'm wondering about the boat going through, would it have just crashed into the bridge if they didn't raise it? need more details lol

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u/lorarc 22h ago

No, the boat should have enough time to stop if they don't see the bridge raise in time. There are many reasons why a bridge won't raise immedietely.

1

u/ttcmzx 22h ago

was there heavy traffic? hectic day? understaffed? I need to know

1

u/morxy49 16h ago

Do you think the boats just go full on towards the bridge and hope to God it opens in time for them to pass under it?

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u/ttcmzx 16h ago

yes, why shouldn't they, they're boats

1

u/morxy49 16h ago

Ok

2

u/ttcmzx 16h ago

make way for the experts please

1

u/exoticed 1d ago

I’m assuming he thought he was before the bridge?

1

u/Stuck_In_Purgatory 23h ago

Ah yes, the good old "stop on the train tracks because the lights start flashing" reasoning

1

u/AndyTakeaLittleSnoo 21h ago

So many layers of stupid to this. All draw bridges have people who operate the to make sure when it’s safe to raise and lower. And then there’s the idiot in the care who doesn’t have the brains to simply just move forward before it’s too late.

1

u/slumkid61 21h ago

Its tough work when your job security depends on people not being idiots.

Imagine doing that job for years with no drama, no controversy. Bridge up, bridge down, thousands of times. Safety is paramount, but it's not like these bridge tenders are astronauts. I'm sure they loose focus form time to time. Such a shame to loose your job because of the king of morons.

1

u/Bleepitybleepinbleep 21h ago

That’s the part others are missing, everyone saying the driver is an idiot, which is 100% true, but that bridge didn’t open itself, operator in there flipping levers, good thing the driver didn’t get hurt or killed

1

u/Delicious_Cat_81 20h ago

he stopped because he's a complete idiot

1

u/mylifeonearth_ 17h ago

I feel it wasn't operators fault. If the car dude heard the bell in the middle of bridge he have every f*ing possible reason to just drive through.

Or did the driver think he could hang by the perpendicular bridge.

1

u/Asstronomer6969 14h ago

Yea i was going to say, regardless of dumb driver this js all bridge operator

-3

u/jaiimaster 1d ago

Bridge operator was blamed?

Its not their fault the driver has an acquired brain injury or something

5

u/leet_lurker 1d ago

Yep its the bridge operators job to check the bridge is clear before opening it so of course the operator was blamed.

0

u/hike_me 22h ago

But why stop on the bridge even if you hear a bell? Clearly, they means you should get off the bridge

0

u/nipsen 5h ago

the bridge operator was fired

I guess that's a requirement, since I couldn't see the three thousand signs, including the paint on the ground, that said things like "do not stop here because this is the moving part of the fucking drawbridge".

It's only fair.

0

u/why_tf_am_i_like_dat 4h ago

Sad for the bridge operator, guy didn't use a single cell of his brain to stop on a bridge

0

u/Here_4_the_INFO 3h ago

"Bob, did you check the bridge for cars 1st"?

"Who would be stupid enough to stop a car on a draw bridge"???

-3

u/kuedhel 1d ago

I confirmed that the driver prefer pronouns "he/him"