# How hard can it possibly be to drive through a tunnel? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 15, 2003, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902 "2003-04-15T16:28:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CRorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CRorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CRorex)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902/21 "2003-04-15T20:22:55Z")
Payton: That’s why you bribe the farker at the control panel… ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902/22 "2003-04-15T21:23:48Z")
Driving through a tunnel is _very_ difficult. First you have to be a bus driver, then they hire you based on seniority. There is an intensive training course and you must be fluent in French and reasonable in English. There’s also the suicides to deal with, and some drivers get reassigned to the lightly-trafficked blue line after - what? oh, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902/23 "2003-04-15T23:27:06Z")
So ahh… don’t you guys have _lights_ in your tunnels? It’s pretty unneccesary to turn your headlights on in Sydney tunnels. Most people don’t. Adjusting one’s eyes to “the dark” isn’t a factor. Now, Sydney drivers aren’t the brightest of folks as a rule, but they seem to be equally incompetent in our out of tunnels. I drive through a 4km tunnel on the way to work, and if anything, people drive too _fast_ in it. Sure, there is the irritating white-knuckled granny ignoring the 80km/h limit, and driving instead at 55km/h in the fast lane, but most people tend to play chicken with the speed cameras and hefty fines by winding it up to about 8 - 10km/h over the limit. Usually, I’ll do about 5 clicks over the limit, and even then it’s not uncommon for some bozo to be right on my tail, flashing his lights. ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902/24 "2003-04-15T23:28:23Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **sugaree** _ > > They are visiting from Philly. All of them. That’s the problem. > > Damn flatlanders. Hey! Some of us have no problems with tunnels. Why, I can even drive _uphill_ without slowing down! :eek: Esprix ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902/25 "2003-04-15T23:39:13Z")
Yes, Esprix, we all know what you can do. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902/26 "2003-04-15T23:45:36Z")
I’m a scaredy tunnel driver. There I am in the bright sunlight, driving along when all of a sudden it’s pitch black and I can’t see shit till my eyes adjust. Plus, everybody knows you have to hold your breath the whole way through the tunnel are the carbon dioxide will asphyxiate you and you’ll die. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902/27 "2003-04-16T00:28:56Z")
I live near Seattle and I’m convinced that the earthquake will hit when I’m either right in the middle of the tunnel or at the apex of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Tunnels and bridges are just plain evil. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902/28 "2003-04-16T00:34:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Scylla \* > Plus, everybody knows you have to hold your breath the whole way through the tunnel are the carbon dioxide will asphyxiate you and you’ll die. Well, all the more reason to step on the fuckin’ gas, old chum. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902/29 "2003-04-16T00:45:53Z")
Duh. But you have to slow down before you get to the tunnel so you have time to hyperventilate. (Y’know my Dad told me about this when I was a kid, and I’ve never gotten over it.) ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902/30 "2003-04-16T00:47:38Z")
Heheh, your dad sounds cool. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902/31 "2003-04-16T00:55:15Z")
We have a couple of major tunnels on Interstate 90 right here in Seattle. Nobody slows down for them. We all fly through them at speed, even accelerating westbound because we lost some velocity going up the ramp off the Lake Washington floating bridge. Must be Pittsburgh. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902/32 "2003-04-16T06:33:57Z")
Hey, be fair: you never know if that’s a real tunnel, or just a painting on the side of the mountain. ---
**Author:** ![CherryBomb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/919ad9/32.png) [@CherryBomb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CherryBomb)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902/33 "2003-04-16T09:28:12Z")
I think that people, being faced with a tunnel or not, just tend to drop about 75 IQ points when they get behind the wheel. We’ve got plenty of tunnels here in Colorado, and drivers are just as stupid in them as when they’re on a flat piece of road. ---
**Author:** ![Jdeforrest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@Jdeforrest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jdeforrest)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902/34 "2003-04-16T17:57:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sugaree \* > \*\*No, the people who are stopping are not normal Pittsburghers at all (normal Pittsburghers. There’s a concept to mull over). > > They are visiting from Philly. All of them. That’s the problem. > > Damn flatlanders. \*\* We have a couple tunnels not too far from Philly and we seem to do fine with them. Must be the people from Ohio. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902/35 "2003-04-16T19:30:35Z")
It’s all of the DC people in the Baltimore Harbor tunnel. Grrrrr! They should be required by law to tak the Key Bridge. Hopefully they’ll blow off. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902/36 "2003-04-16T20:21:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Isosleepy \* > **It’s just a tunnel! A Goddamn hole in a fucking mountain is all** Pittsburgh has _mountains?_ Really? I had no idea. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902/37 "2003-04-16T20:38:47Z")
WAG: People are scared of hitting the walls? ---
**Author:** ![Klaatu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Klaatu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Klaatu)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902/38 "2003-04-17T06:44:52Z")
We had a couple of tunnels down south of Houston where I grew up. (Washburn and Baytown) I probably went through the Baytown tunnel hundreds of times. The Tunnel was a big deal during drivers ed at my old high school. (LaPorte) It was a mysterious thing to drive through supposedly. As has been said, the transition into the tunnel is the thing. It looks like it is dark as hell until you enter. Driving through is no prob, but it is a bit disconcerting to see a leak repair crew and water dripping from the top. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902/39 "2003-04-17T07:51:24Z")
[The solution.](http://www.luchtfotografie.com/expositie_11.html) That’s the Schiphol-tunnel, leading the A4 highway between The Hague and Amsterdam underneath the taxiways of Schiphol airport. The road with the yellow lines on it is the taxiway: look underneath it. You’ll see a kind of canopy over the highway. The panels in the canopy are positioned so that when you’re driving underneath, the light intensity _gradually_ becomes less as you enter the tunnel. Works like a charm: no need to adjust your eyes, as it’s done gradually over 2 or 3 seconds when you’re still technically outside the tunnel. Traffic doesn’t slow down there at all, and I’ve often wondered why that type of canopy seems to be so rare. ---
**Author:** ![Ender\_Will](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Ender\_Will](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ender_Will)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902/40 "2003-04-17T11:01:12Z")
At a guess, the canopy is more expensive than people are willing to pay for. Now, I don’t know if I have super-human optically abilities (though I doubt it, since the DMV has decided I need specs to drive), but going from even bright sun to shade or tunnel, my eyes adjust in about as long as it takes to blink. Yeah, there’s a moment before I could read legal fine print, but good Lord, a car is a big fucking thing, and many off them have lights on the back. It’s not exactly incon-fucking-spicuous. People are just idiots, the majority of whom shouldn’t be allowed to drive on a well-lit straight road, asking them to drive through a mountain? HA! May as well ask the IRS to let you slide because you were way to shitfaced to get your taxes together. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-can-it-possibly-be-to-drive-through-a-tunnel/168902.md?page=3)