But park-and-dashers can?
Joe
Correct.
More specifically, it was to clarify why I lacked sympathy for drivers who were inattentive enough to run over the spikes. For the OP, inattention may cause inconvenience and expense, while for me it may cause injury or death. Different stakes, therefore different attitudes.
“Park and dashers”? :dubious:
Peace,
mangeorge
That just doesn’t pass my “doesn’t make sense” filter. The consequences don’t compare. The assumption that a driver who backs over spikes will also run over bicycle riders doesn’t wash.
If you were to check the pickup driver’s record, I doubt you’d find much about running over spikes.
Besides, inattentive spike runners, so far, just do not exist.
Well, first of all, I agree that people don’t run over them by accident; that’s part of the main point people have been trying to get Wee Bairn to understand.
But as for the “filter” you need to adjust it. An inattentive driver can accomplish anything. They can back into things, they can run over things, they can run into things, they can go through stop signs, they can run red lights, they can do just about anything bad with a car you can imagine.
Thus, a person who is inattentive enough to drive over spikes would theoretically be inattentive enough to run into a person. And that’s hardly a stretch, and it certainly make sense (see, e.g., the statistics on cell phone use while driving).
OK, I must say I don’t quite see what’s the Big Deal with the strips – in my experience they are quite clearly labeled, and they are not at “ambush” locations, but rather at such points where you want to make sure that a car moving in the right direction will KEEP moving in that direction and there is no choice about it. I have yet to see one of these strips somewhere where you could *easily * and casually drive in through the out lane unless you were “in a fog” – in which circumstance the wise thing to do is pull aside, stop, and wait to roll again until after you get your bearings back. The Severe Tire Damage warning has always been rather obvious to me and I have rarely encountered them outside locations you want to make particularly secure, to the point that at places I’ve faced the tire-rippers PLUS a gate/arm PLUS a live attendant at the same spot.
The way I see it, the idea is not to that this is to “punish” me, it’s to make me turn around and go a different way BEFORE I get to the no-return point, and if I make it past that no-return point to ensure I keep moving in the right direction or else STOP me, or at least slow me down considerably. That in the latter case I end up having to buy four new tires is an incidental. I suppose that we could design some sort of system so that if you try to enter Tripler’s base through the exit lane, a set of arrestor cables would deploy from the road to hold you – but then that would probably rip off the bumpers on many vehicles, or get tangled around the axles, and so cause property damage anyway. But still it was YOU who drove against the “Wrong Way” sign.
BTW, let me agree with the comment that one should not be following the other vehicle so closely as to end up halfway over the stopping device if the guy in front slams the brakes. In any stopping-device-equipped exit I should let the other guy be clear of the device by a full car length before trying follow (good advice at grade crossings, too). And as for “what if the driver does not understand the language”, well, let’s just say that I would NOT rent a car and drive myself around Istambul, Seoul, or Minsk, if I can’t read the signs.
I’ve searched and searched to find anything about inattentive drivers violating their tires with these spikes. I’ll admit my google skills leave something to be desired, but you’d I’d find something. But no.
So I posted this sneaky little challenge in various wordings
No takers. Tsk tsk tsk. 
The closest was the clever dude with the sign and trashcan lid.
So all four of my tires sustained tire damage (did not blow, but took chunks out of them that eventually required replacement) because the spikes have been malfunctioning and not properly releasing. This was at Fort Jackson military installation.
Initial notice via email after several cars were damaged by the incident:
“Do not exit Gate 1, Jackson Blvd. The spikes are up as you exit the gate. Again, do not exit. -agency- has had a couple of folks, that have deflated theirs tires due to exiting from this gate.”
three days later they issued the following email:
"Speed Will Damage Tires
Over the last several months, a very small number of vehicles exiting Gate 1 on Jackson Boulevard had tires punctured while driving across the force protection spikes. To prevent unauthorized access to the installation through the Gate 1 outbound lanes, spikes were installed. These are the same type of spikes that are typically seen in parking lots at vehicle exits. The spikes are manufactured in such a manner that a vehicle must cross over them at a slow rate of speed. However, many motorists are driving faster than the posted speed limit and the spikes manufacturer’s recommended speed of 1 to 5 miles per hour. Speed in excess of 5 miles per hour increase the possibility of damaging vehicle tires. Traveling at a speed greater than 5 miles per hour causes vehicles’ tires to ride higher off the ground and increases the angle of attack the spikes have on the surface of the tire potentially leading to tire damage. Motorist must reduce their speed to 5 miles per hour or less when crossing the spikes at Gate 1 or when crossing spikes anywhere for that matter or risk damage to their vehicle’s tires. In an effort to encourage motorist to slow down when crossing the spikes at Gate 1 the Directorate of Emergency Services will conduct strict traffic enforcement in the coming days. Remember travel slow, 5 MPH, over spikes and no damage will occur."
They then changed speed limits, detracted the spikes and turned them off during exiting hours, and monitored situation.
My question is … isn’t the government responsible for paying for damages caused by this malfunction? i can’t find where to complain, file a reimbursement, or know what step to take next. Anyone have suggestions? please help. Very frustrated as this caused over $500 worth of damage beyond my fault.
Since you received an email from the facility, I assume you work there? If so, take up the matter with your supervisor. If restitution is not forthcoming, I would think you’d need to take the matter to small claims court.
First, the topic you’re commenting on is called (in the vernacular) a “zombie thread” because you’ve brought it back from a 7-year long death sleep. It’s generally frowned on, even if it’s on-topic.
Second, you probably won’t get legal advice here, and to some degree questions of harm and restitution in a governmental setting need legal advice. If there’s an administrative (bureaucratic) recourse, someone here may know of it.
Along those lines, you mention Fort Jackson. Again, not legal advice, but if you’re also military, my experience (21 years Air Force) is that you don’t have any legal recourse. Administrative recourse, perhaps, in which case you’ll want to work through your command. OTOH, if you’re a civilian, I exect there could be legal recourse if it comes to that.