The gods definately are crazy...

So, I'm chugging along at my job yesterday (I'm the assistant Manager at a bookstore in Boston) when this happens about 30 feet away from me:

http://cbs4boston.com/local/local_story_093132812.html

Probably the craziest thing I've seen outside of the movies. Large metal objects falling out of the sky and flattening cars in traffic. Some people are going to jail over this one I'm sure - apparently they were disassembling the lift w/o blocking the street off, and this was the result.

That is very depressing

Holy Crap!

That is absolutely devastating... I feel bad for the victims who died, and also for anyone who had to witness such a terrible accident... I'm sure you are thankful that you were okay!

Jeez!!

We recently had an incident where a mixer fell from a contruction site and crushed a prominent business man here in Malaysia. Construction sites are probably the most dangerous places for the public to be around with because a lot of the times, the hazards are just not seen to someone who is not in the know.

I've been down Boylston Street a couple of times, and as Bostonians know, it's a very busy street. Given how many people are driving that stretch and how many people are walking along the sidewalks on an average weekday, there could easily have been even more fatalities. You're right, it's amazing that more precautions weren't taken.

It should never happen if proper safety protocols were followed. Now the victims survivors will waste years in court fighting for fair compensation.

As a road designer with some field experience, I agree that construction zones are a dangerous place for the general public. We do what we can under the constraints and standards, but you just can't design for stupidity. This case appears to be one where the contractor didn't follow all of the proper measures and not one where passers-by were not adequately aware of their surroundings. Let this be a lesson to all, though, to be on heightened awareness when you enter an area where construction is nearby. Avoid them if at all possible, but if not, stay alert.

On the highways, give a generous berth to emergency vehicles, crews, law enforcement and construction workers/equipment. Especially if this isn't possible, slow down. A couple years back a drunk driver (of course) blew through construction barrels on a local project and proceeded to drive through a stretch of freshly placed concrete pavement more than 300' long. If you're not familiar with construction materials, you would have to have a lot of momentum (i.e. going very fast) to drive that far into concrete pavement that hasn't set, yet.

We'd all like to see our fellow Factorites in the news--but not this way. I'm glad to know you and your coworkers weren't directly affected.

I am never surprised by human stupidity. Just when I think a new stupid pinnacle is reached some idiot comes along and raises the bar.

...which is why we have the Darwin Awards.

By the way, this is Work Zone Safety Awareness Week. Last week, I was attending a conference and, in my packet, received an orange reflective sticker in the shape of one of those magnetic car ribbons. One focus of the conference was work zone safety.

I was about to say that.