I happened upon this sight (you can click on the photo for a larger view) a couple of Friday afternoons ago. I was giving a new employee tour of Eden Prairie. This photo was taken at the intersection of Co. Rd. 62 and Dell Road, right at the border of Eden Prairie and Minnetonka. The police were there helping the driver when I rolled by. The police had already called the wrecker service to come get the vehicle, and to help clean up the post-accident mess.
A traffic signal pole is an unfortunate obstacle to hit. It’s unfortunate for the driver in two ways. First, the physics of a traffic signal require the post to be anchored very, very solidly into the ground so that it can support the horizontal weight and force of the mast arm with the weight of the signal heads. The post must support not only the weight of the signal heads, but also the weight of the signal heads multiplied by wind, rain and snow conditions. Unlike most of our traffic signs, which are designed to snap off quickly if they are hit by a vehicle, this post did not move much when the vehicle hit it. It’s not designed to move. That makes an extra physical impact on a driver that hits one.
The other unfortunate aspect of hitting a traffic signal post is that traffic signals are expensive, and when drivers hit them, we do our utmost to go after the driver’s insurance carrier to pay for the repairs. After all, if we know the party responsible for damaging public property, why shouldn’t we require that party to restore that public property to its pre-accident condition? The traffic signal post, past arm and signals in this photo would cost anywhere from $75,000-$150,000 to replace. That’s a hefty bill for an auto insurance carrier.
No word on what happened. Did the driver lose control of the vehicle? Was the driver distracted and just drove straight into the traffic signal? Did the driver hit the signal post in order to avoid hitting another vehicle, or a pedestrian, or a deer? All of these explanations are possible. The police will figure it out.
