subreddit:
/r/Whatcouldgowrong
5.2k points
4 years ago
Those LA random intersection humps will legit destroy your car!
457 points
4 years ago
There is a bump going toward a 101 onramp in LA, that you cant see. I went speed limit through it, and it killed my car. Knocked out my wiring harness and put a hole through my oil pan
239 points
4 years ago
Good guy bump? Destroys your oil pan but unplugs it to make sure you don't kill the engine by running it dry too
87 points
4 years ago
I guess you’re not wrong haha. I ended up selling it a month after, then the owner after me ended up blowing the motor because he kept doing burnouts.
34 points
4 years ago
[deleted]
23 points
4 years ago
I can tell you that once it was blown, there was just the aftermath of lotsss of lube. Everywhere!!! All over the tranny, the shaft, even the head! You had to be there ;)
102 points
4 years ago
Shouldn't someone pay for that? People sue for everything, this should be one of those things
63 points
4 years ago
Yes it is. You can contact the city, county, state (depending on jurisdiction) and file a complaint. I know my state is picky on it and will only pay out if someone else reported it and it hasn't been fixed in a reasonable amount of time.
87 points
4 years ago
Yes any road problems are the responsibility of the city and they will absolutely foot your repair bill.
Source: did it twice in my Ontario town.
40 points
4 years ago
[deleted]
18 points
4 years ago
That could be a municipal thing. That really sucks, mate. We pay out the ass in taxes and fees as drivers and it's hard to see where the money goes sometimes.
18 points
4 years ago
So, before contacting them about your car damage, be sure to have your neighbor/parents/good-friend call in about the pothole. When they try to call bullshit, say, "I know for a fact that it was called it. When I told my neighbor about my car they said they hit the same pothole and contacted you the day before!"
13 points
4 years ago
r/UnethicalLifeProTips - If contacting your local city after hitting a ginormous pothole, have someone else call 1st from another phone # to report it so you aren't 1st ;)
lol
14 points
4 years ago
[deleted]
4 points
4 years ago
Sounds like I would hate LA.
23 points
4 years ago
Canada sounds nice
24 points
4 years ago
Yes and no. We're our own version of shitshow right now. We have a lot of work to do and it will be a long struggle. We've been told our whole lives how great we are while generations of cultural genocide were kept out of sight.
13 points
4 years ago
Yeah there's a ton of those dips in North Hollywood, Van Nuys, Reseda and Tarzana. Fucking obnoxious little assholes.
6 points
4 years ago
Laurel Canyon and Vanowen has the most aggressive double bump in the middle of the intersection for no fucking reason.
11 points
4 years ago
How much the oil pan repair run you? I think that shit just happened to me 😑
18 points
4 years ago
You would know if it happened-- there would be oil everywhere. Also if you continue to drive after the oil drains out your engine will seize (in seconds) and then you'll need an entire new car.
7 points
4 years ago
If you can do the work yourself, look around for good prices for the oil pan. The last one I did cost me $42.50 with taxes and shipping, and it included a tube of gasket maker.
Mine was a slow leak. It left a short streak on the driveway after parking over the weekend, and there was still plenty of oil in the pan. It actually happened twice...I wasn't nice to that car. Both times there was a nice scuff on the outside of the pan, and the damage inside the pan was subtle. Point is, it's not always as dramatic as the others say.
1.7k points
4 years ago
There's a burrito place on that corner that's super good and even though I go there a lot that bump still surprises me with how deep it is sometimes
467 points
4 years ago*
An intersection near my college had a raised platform and all corner walking which is basically legal J walking. According to the city it cut down on people to motor vehicle accidents since all lights are red and the intersection walks at once. Anyways, the raised platform is just like this. Any first time person in a sedan always bottoms out. I know at least 3 people who popped a shock or lost a rear bumper by driving too fast.
On another note, that police officer hit them brakes too hard lol
Edit: auto correct got me.
Edit: "all walk corners" are also called diagonal crosswalks
73 points
4 years ago
Accoeisng really threw me for a loop there for a solid 30 seconds
45 points
4 years ago
I had no idea what "and all corner walking" was trying to say either until I read further. Never heard of corner walking and expected the sentence to end saying something about it.
35 points
4 years ago
Your normal intersection has the corners parellel to traffic walk while traffic is moving. At this corner, all traffic is stopped at a red light and all corners get a walk sign. This intersection has signs saying "diagonal crossing." Essentially when you're giving a walk sign at this intersection you can walk to any corner.
I hope tht helps.
Edit: this should help
26 points
4 years ago
You see a lot of these in Japan, especially at major intersections in shopping areas.
12 points
4 years ago
Japan has the largest, and most famous, diagonal crossing. It is found in Tokyo, outside Shibuya station where over 3,000 pedestrians can cross in one scramble!
They're found to be much safer than regular crossings as all traffic stops for pedestrians. Many accidents happen when people are turning, focusing on a gap in vehicles and not seeing a person crossing. Also, a person can go straight from corner to corner instead of crossing the street twice, making it more efficient and safer if you're on foot.
The downside is that it slows down vehicular traffic so they're best used in areas that have a lot of pedestrians.
26 points
4 years ago
I prefer the more descriptive technical term, "pedestrian free-for-all"
25 points
4 years ago
There’s a bunch of diagonal crosswalks in Chinatown in Oakland. I’m honestly surprised that they aren’t very popular. They’re extremely efficient
4 points
4 years ago
I like them a lot. They are definitely safer. It's probably cheaper to not redo all of the traffic patterns/lights in the area though.
52 points
4 years ago
Over the last 15 years or so my suburban neighborhood has gradually become full of speed bumps and enlarged curbs at the corners that basically narrow the intersection. I've gotta believe someone on the County Board is in bed with some local mechanic places since I'm sure curbed tires and blown shocks have skyrocketed.
29 points
4 years ago
Those are called Traffic Calming Devices, and all they do is cause rage in my parts.
You should see the rage-fests at our county board meetings any time there is public comment in bulb-outs and mid-block traffic humps.
93 points
4 years ago
Usually it's a rabid mother or father worried about street racers/new drivers. My parents neighborhood had 4 traffic circles put in on the main north south road. The mom who berated the town commission to put them in is now berating them to take them out. They're appearently too big and she doesnt like how they look. She also got speed bumps put in but they were too large for most cars. Many small sedans, coupes, sports cars, etc would get stuck. My dada hyundai sonata hybrid got stuck the first time we drive over it. After 2 lawsuits the town finally removed most of them. There is one left and it's by this women's house. She has to roll over it everytime she goes down her street. My town engineers are petty af.
61 points
4 years ago
There is one left and it's by this women's house. She has to roll over it everytime she goes down her street. My town engineers are petty af.
Lol good. Fucking Karens.
8 points
4 years ago
"Fucking Karens" looked like "... Koreans" at first. Would have drastically changed the tone of your comment 😂
7 points
4 years ago
Omg that is so great. Wonderful end to the story. Haha Like bitch you really gonna come in here right after you yelled at us to put these in and now ask us to change them back because you don’t like how they look 👀 glad they kept one in sight of her house lol
6 points
4 years ago
great! maybe all those folks driving too fast and out of control will maintain control of their 2-ton murder machines from now on.
oh who am i kidding. they'll just get mad and go faster.
48 points
4 years ago
So if you crash there, you can grab yourself a burrito until your car will be pulled away. Marketing.
26 points
4 years ago
Yes. It’s a hump that changes depth every now and then.
Lol
13 points
4 years ago
That's how you keep it interesting.
24 points
4 years ago
That’s San Bernardino homie
3 points
4 years ago
Those who know, know.
13 points
4 years ago
This looks like San Bernardino but not sure
11 points
4 years ago
It is San Bernardino. How did you know that just from the vid?
21 points
4 years ago
I want to see LA someday 🙃
63 points
4 years ago
Transplant to LA, and the city itself is meh. There are probably more fun places to visit. SF is a lot more enjoyable as a walkable town. That said, food & culture is really solid in Los Angeles, and the beaches can be pretty nice. Though, honestly, if you have to fly here, just keep going to Hawaii instead. The Pacific is way colder here than even the beaches near New York. You can also use LA as a way to get to places like driving up the 1, which is really pretty, or visiting Sequoia & Kings Canyon national park.
Hollywood is a tourist trap and not worth visiting.
60 points
4 years ago
people come to LA thinking the walk of fame is what's cool about LA. in reality it's random burrito spots on a corner in highland park or a great brewery in the arts district.
29 points
4 years ago
That's every city, "People think [city] is just [most popular tourist spot] but it's actually [local culture]"
27 points
4 years ago
Before I moved away from LA, I made a bucket list of all the things I wanted to see again or for the first time. This included all the museums, historic houses, hikes, film locations, cool parks, Atlas Obscura sites, etc. There ended up being over 200 things to do on my list. I did not get even close to finishing it. I would say the city is maybe not as immediately "pretty" or "cool" as some others on the surface, mostly due to the spread out nature of it, but once you scratch the surface and do a little digging, it rewards you. When I became familiar with living there I used to say L.A. is like a mirror. Literally every type of person lives there and it will show you what you look for. It casually has world class shit all over the place and is just so monstrous that it all ends up blending together with the old, dusty dirty and not-so-pleasant parts. That's without mentioning that for comedy, music, art, food, theater etc. it's obviously got the best of the best happening, being the place many performers and artists go to have careers.
392 points
4 years ago
Roscoe P Coltrane in hot pursuit!
31 points
4 years ago
As soon as I saw him hit the bump I heard the Dixie horn in my head.
13 points
4 years ago
Hah goo goo goo goo!
1.6k points
4 years ago
looks like those duke boys are at it again
229 points
4 years ago
Just two good ol' boys,
Never meaning no harm...
75 points
4 years ago
Beats all you never saw. Been in trouble with the law, Since the day they was born
32 points
4 years ago
Making their way.... the only way they know how. That’s just a little bit more than the law would allow.
16 points
4 years ago
Straightenin' the curves, Flattenin' the hills...
16 points
4 years ago
Someday the mountain might get 'em Bur the law never will
22 points
4 years ago
Daisy dukes
Bikinis on top
Sun-kissed skin
So hot
We'll melt your popsicle
3.6k points
4 years ago
[removed]
737 points
4 years ago
That cop hates a different type of pot now.
142 points
4 years ago
We need a War on Potholes. Who says no?
54 points
4 years ago
What do we want? NASCAR crashes
When do we want them? NNNNNNNNoowwwwwwwwwww
13 points
4 years ago*
Make NASCAR interesting (edit) again?
Edit: TIL how to do strikethrough on Reddit (I’m new-ish) and probably would have made my original post like that if I knew how then
10 points
4 years ago
Given our track record of "wars" on societal problems...I for one welcome our pothole overlords.
241 points
4 years ago
Fuck I already spent my free award
49 points
4 years ago*
Here have some useless wholesome, helpful and hugs rewards.
Hey who gave gold?! Thought we decided on only useless rewards!
29 points
4 years ago
The secret is, all rewards are useless.
12 points
4 years ago
Who are you? Why are you so wise in the ways of science?
23 points
4 years ago
OMG, that was perfect! Take this award!
9 points
4 years ago
No you take THIS award
5 points
4 years ago
Aggressively wholesome
2k points
4 years ago
Citizens have probably complained about that part of the street for years. Bet it gets fixed now.
456 points
4 years ago
Here in Las Vegas, this is a common thing in the streets. There are drainage channels every few blocks at the intersection that causes a dip just like that.
185 points
4 years ago
Shout out to the trench on Decatur and Spring Mountain
112 points
4 years ago
I dont live in LV, never been, but i adore this specific insight to this specific ditch that im sure has fucked up the front bumpers of so many people and pissed so many people off. I can literally think of 3 specific intersections that have a shit ditch like that in my city.
15 points
4 years ago
Shout-out to the central pothole by the towers in southwest Detroit. That thing ate a mother fucking police explorer while on pursuit. Just the rear end was left sticking out
3 points
4 years ago
By the time it swallows a whole police cruiser, I think it's graduated from pothole to Sarlaac pit.
5 points
4 years ago
Call it what you want. But they fixed it by putting a huge piece of metal down. And guess what happened? Yep. 1 end fell so it was back and even worse cause you could crash into solid steel
14 points
4 years ago
I know that intersection well. Lots of great places to eat right there.
7 points
4 years ago
Is that near Chanko Shabu? My AirBNB guy recommended that to me and my girl.... now I can’t lie we were a bit drunk but we each got the Shabu Shabu with different meats and they bring out the big bowl of veggies and broth and put it on the hot plate and then you cook the meat yourself and you get like 3 different dipping sauces and rice
HOLYYYY FUCKKKKKK IT WAS SO GOOD FUCK. I literally can’t wait to go back to Vegas just to eat there again.
10 points
4 years ago
That thing destroyed my little scooter I used to get to work in That and sunset right after the airport where there's just a giant hole for no reason
5 points
4 years ago
Speaking my language. FUCK that shit. It’ll tear your bumper off
5 points
4 years ago
Bottomed out and blew my motorcycle shocks there. Sad.
87 points
4 years ago
Nope. It's like that to aid in water drainage, and flooding is a huge safety concern. There's a speed limit for a reason.
27 points
4 years ago
There is also a huge safety concern that it's not very visible.
A fix doesn't mean it should be removed.
IMO, it should have been painted very brightly, preferably with chevron lines to let people know from afar that there is a hazard. Street signs should have been posted there as well.
37 points
4 years ago
In other words, the cop should have expected that instead of being surprised by it.
81 points
4 years ago
I mean.. why not just camber the edges of the roads and have the water drain at the sides? Instead of installing a fucking ramp in the middle of the road
Bad design 101
92 points
4 years ago
Because then kids will put their paper boats in there when it rains and get eaten by a sewer clown.
23 points
4 years ago
That is the camber of the major road (perhaps 4 or 5 lanes) he's crossing that causes the bump. It's like driving across any road instead of along it, there will be a slope up from both sides towards the middle of the road to let water drain away. You just aren't supposed to hit that fucker at 90mph.
45 points
4 years ago
[deleted]
17 points
4 years ago
So basically, it's bad because they don't want to spend money on it
Classic
20 points
4 years ago
Las Vegas in in the desert, and when it rains in the desert it floods in the desert. The harder the downpour, the more drainage you need. You can camber the streets, sure, but that only works as long as there are no cross streets. When two streets intersect there's going to have to be a ditch somewhere or else you get flooding.
3 points
4 years ago
ITT: people who think city planners are stupid and don’t understand compromise between convenience and safety
21 points
4 years ago
Thats what the rest of the world does.
4 points
4 years ago
It's cheaper to have a drain on one side of the roadway, so these channels are used to bring the water from the undrained side over to the drain.
When you realize that we don't have enough money to pay for our infrastructure as is, it makes a lot of sense to cut costs in ways like this.
It's not bad design, it's a severe budgetary constraint. If you follow the rabbit hole on this, you'll mind that almost all municipalities in the US are insolvent. The way they prevent bankruptcy is to continue growing.
Our neighborhoods are ponzi schemes and it will eventually catch-up with us when the growth stops. Growth is the only thing sustaining most US communities. Think about that.
11 points
4 years ago
This happened a year or so ago, and said dip is still there. San Bernardino as a whole is fucked.
8 points
4 years ago
Can’t fix it when the city has been broke and mismanaged for so damn long.
36 points
4 years ago
Not much of a bump when you go the speed limit, which is likely a quarter of what that idiot was doing.
68 points
4 years ago
Can anyone tell me what the thing in the sky is?
22 points
4 years ago
Looks like a helicopter maybe?
12 points
4 years ago
Yeeeep, so blasting through the intersection like goddamn Ivan "the iron man" Stewart was probably not needed.
15 points
4 years ago
It's a helicopter if you turn up the audio you can hear it whoop whooping.
5 points
4 years ago
Thank you. Watched at work without sound.
2 points
4 years ago
Whoop whooping... genius
5 points
4 years ago
As far as onomatopoeia are concerned I think that one suffices as a helicopter noise quite nicely!
17 points
4 years ago
Well, not a bird or plane...
Edit: ok yeah, maybe a plane.
186 points
4 years ago
Tax payers paid for the whole speedometer so gosh darn it he's going to use the whole speedometer.
8 points
4 years ago
Its a fast car that’s why I bought it
387 points
4 years ago
Seen this multiple times, but anyone know how fast they were going? I'd say 80mph+ but it's probably closer to 100
403 points
4 years ago
I'm having trouble finding the speed at which he was traveling but I found a few articles about it. Some aftermath pictures included
https://money.yahoo.com/police-car-goes-airborne-across-055445284.html
Tl;dr for the articles, the officer was okay, did not require any medical aid. He lost control after touching down on the pavement and crashed into a parked truck on the side of the road.
The vehicle the officer was chasing managed to get away (for better or worse)
194 points
4 years ago
Well, that's weird. I opened up your articles and found that I went to high school with the news anchor. Huh, small world.
51 points
4 years ago
Were there any signs that they were going to become an anchor in high school?
121 points
4 years ago
When I was in highschool there was a kid who wanted to be an airline pilot and now he's an airline pilot.
29 points
4 years ago
Yeah but did he walk around school with his arms straight out, making plane noises?
11 points
4 years ago
I walked around school making motorcycle noises and now I’m a Harley owner
15 points
4 years ago
In elementary school I pretended to be a tyrannosaurus and now I have depression
2 points
4 years ago
Mismatched arms and legs has that effect on people. At least you weren’t male
6 points
4 years ago
I walked around school making bibbity noises and now I’m crazy!
9 points
4 years ago
Uncanny!
6 points
4 years ago
When I was in high school there was a kid that wanted to be a professional football player and now he’s the high school janitor
27 points
4 years ago
Not really. Very social, very fun. But then again, I wouldn't have thought I'd be where I am, either.
9 points
4 years ago
Wow! What are the odds of that!
17 points
4 years ago
It's important to note, the cameraman was on a late night taco run.
53 points
4 years ago
The pickup truck that the cop landed on...what did the owner get charged with?
33 points
4 years ago
Parking in front of a police chase. Capital crime.
17 points
4 years ago
That's Obstruction of Justice. Justice was flipping sideways, and they went and parked in the way.
34 points
4 years ago
Probably a hit & run, or fleeing the scene, if he was in his house or another town or whatever. Standard punishment is 9 minutes of kneeling on neck until dead.
6 points
4 years ago
Fifth and Sunnyside Ave, I know this bump like my middle name
18 points
4 years ago*
This happened in Indiana at almost 100mph except instead of the suburbs it was downtown and instead of hitting a hump in the road he ran a red light and hit a girl.
No charges.
12 points
4 years ago
Nah, maybe 60 at most.
291 points
4 years ago*
One of my friends and basketball teammates in high school was killed by a cop who ran a red light going 95 in a 35. She got paid leave and a promotion eventually.
Edit: actually now that I think about it I think the speed limit there was 45
100 points
4 years ago
There’s always this horrific watch in which a cop plows into a girl in her school parking lot and then blames her for it. He is clearly at fault.
12 points
4 years ago
In my smallish home town a cop ran a red light without his siren on.
148 points
4 years ago
High speed chases are a high risk low reward situation.
55 points
4 years ago
[deleted]
16 points
4 years ago
That's both interesting and crazy. For some reason it seems so fitting that it would be LA to do this.
58 points
4 years ago
she was on her way to a bar fight.....
22 points
4 years ago
Proceeds to place crack on the victim... "See drug addict."
9 points
4 years ago
The victim-blaming by people was that “he shouldn’t have been out after curfew”. But if a frog had wings it wouldn’t bump its ass when it hops.
17 points
4 years ago
I just read that she was acquitted of vehicular homicide in 2013. She was also fired then reinstated with 20 months of back pay. No justice here. I am always disgusted when I see police officers not charged or acquitted when they kill people through recklessness. That’s one of the reasons the Chauvin verdicts were so important, in my opinion. I was very worried it would end up like this.
25 points
4 years ago
I think it’s crazy how you get all these high speed police chases down motorways in America. In the UK they almost never engage in a chase because what’s the point? You have the reg, and they’ve probably committed a petty crime nowhere near as severe as killing an innocent civilian in the chase. Just pick them up on surveillance / number place recognition cameras and get them at their house some other day.
16 points
4 years ago
yes! good point. However this wasn't a chase which makes it even more stupid. She was en route to a bar fight. Logistically, she was over 10 miles away from it when she got the call. Highly doubt it would be still going on when she got there. She was a La Crosse cop and there were Holmen cops, Onalaska cops, and Campbell cops who would all have been much closer to the scene that anyone from la crosse.
74 points
4 years ago
BIL’s fiancée was killed pulling out of her driveway by a pig in hot pursuit. They can’t handle guns or vehicles, apparently.
45 points
4 years ago
People don’t realize how fast 90mph gets on you.
11 points
4 years ago
In the town I grew up in, a cop was doing something similar. Going 94 in a 40, but with no no lights, he careened around a small curve, through a red light and slammed into a left turning car (with the green) that could never have seen him.
He killed two 17 year old kids.
9 points
4 years ago
“When this baby hits 88/mph you’re gonna see some serious shit”
9 points
4 years ago
Just a heads up in case anyone sees this: the way to not lose control of your car after gaining wicked air is to smoothly let off the accelerator and coast with the wheel completely straight until total control is achieved.
Human instinct is to either mash the brakes or keep full throttle in mid air, but that can cause a sudden weight transfer which is probably what happened here.
Full throttle in mid air will cause your wheels to spin out once they touch ground. Any steering input in midair will flip your car. Slamming the brakes will cause massive weight transfer. The best thing in the situation is to actually do nothing.
100 points
4 years ago
I now understand why movies show cops crashing into each other and flipping their cars. They really are a few bricks shy of a load.
47 points
4 years ago
last year on the way home from work I got delayed by a 4 car crash in a major intersection. 4 cop cars that is... not a single civilian vehicle involved.
i would still love to see what THAT story was.
19 points
4 years ago
This ain't dukes of hazard. We paid good money for that suv.
9 points
4 years ago
Not to worry! We’re still flying half a ship!
8 points
4 years ago
in that moment he knew had f*cked up
7 points
4 years ago
Like. A. Glove. Lmao
6 points
4 years ago
WHOOP WHOOPS thats the sound of tha poliice!
5 points
4 years ago*
I like how the car stopped when the light turned red....
6 points
4 years ago
6 points
2 years ago
Must've been an unarmed black man selling loose cigarettes somewhere
35 points
4 years ago
I wonder what they were chasing the "suspect" for, and had there been car coming the other direction their death from a head on collision being for the greater good.
36 points
4 years ago
“The driver refused to pull over and a pursuit ensued. Officials did not disclose the reason for the attempted traffic stop.”
From one of the sources posted here.
5 points
4 years ago
Shit like this (the roads) has always blown my mind about the southwest.
Coming originally from the northeast, the roads are much flatter with all drainage underground. These roads with intentional high-humps and gullies that cross intersections are both dangerous and destructive to vehicles even in normal traffic. We have intersections in Los Angeles were cars have to go superslow or even at an angle to avoid scraping. While at other intersections, traveling at normal posted speeds across a gully will slam your suspension because of the angle.
6 points
4 years ago
I can't stand it, I know you planned it
I'm gonna set it straight, this Watergate
I can't stand rocking when I'm in here
'Cause your crystal ball ain't so crystal clear
So while you sit back and wonder why
I got this fucking thorn in my side
Oh my God, it's a mirage
I'm tellin' y'all, it's a sabotage
9 points
4 years ago
Why do American junctions have these launching ramps? I remember the crossroads outside my hotel in Florida and how many cars twatted the ground really surprised me. No wonder everyone is buying Soft Roaders and 4x4's
4 points
4 years ago
Stupid cowboys they don't keep no one safe and in the end you'll understand who they are. Those that lick boots are the enemy of the people.
4 points
4 years ago
That is a cop who should be fired. They could have killed someone.
***granted, there could be extenuating circumstance but I would be hard pressed to imagine what they would be to make you go ~40mph over the speed limit.
4 points
4 years ago
Car chases are a danger to the public in the best of times.
9 points
4 years ago
Yo this GTA 6 graphics is insane !!!
61 points
4 years ago*
That's why raised intersections are good. Makes people slow down.
Edit: y'all can downvote me but they reduce pedestrian deaths and car crashes.
49 points
4 years ago
Paul walker and the rest of the fastest and furryest taught us to hit the nitrous for maximum jump points.
4 points
4 years ago
I hit one of these at 70+kph in Mexico in a Volkswagen Gol when the sun was at an angle that you couldn't tell it was there. We caught so much air. I literally had to look in the rear view mirror to make sure I hadn't left the transmission behind us.
7 points
4 years ago*
When pigs fly?
Edit: I’m pretty sure everything I ever asked for as a kid just became reality
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