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swamper1989 t1_j6svoff wrote

Somebody will still be on top of it in a few days. Can’t wait for the Facebook post.

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IBOstro t1_j6wzbde wrote

Then the comments defending the driver like they weren't either incompetent or distracted

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psilosophist t1_j6syk7b wrote

Two years from now there’s gonna be an entire gated community just to protect the pole.

And someone will still find a way to flip their car on it.

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lobstah t1_j6t0wqi wrote

Is there something specific about that particular bollard ( If it is indeed the famous one) that makes it such a common target ?

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Dirty_Lew t1_j6t3byr wrote

It’s right in front of where customers come out so it’s easy to get distracted, the turn is also an acute angle and feels natural to cut the corner. The sign/bollard also often lines up with the windshield pillars.

Source: my wife hit the pole, and I came embarrassingly close once.

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lulu-bell t1_j6uutnf wrote

I understand hitting the pole- BONK- oh woops I hit a pole. I cannot comprehend how so many people just keep driving until their car is literally on top of it! How does THAT even happen and why so many times???

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WalkerBRiley t1_j72oxq2 wrote

Because in addition to everything else said, they are also exceeding the speed limit within a parking area by a fair margin.

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eljefino t1_j6u04sw wrote

It's in front of a large zebra striped sidewalk where customers meander out of the store and split off in all directions. Motorists get impatient and try to cut the corner to get around those customers.

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Antnee83 t1_j6t25me wrote

My guess is that it's older people, already twitchy because its a busy parking lot, cutting the corner in such a way that the stop sign is directly in the little blind spot created by the uh... you know... the strips of metal that hold your windshield in place. I'm sure there's a name for those.

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bigexplosion t1_j6t487p wrote

They're called pillars. The one that holds the windshield is the A-pillar. The one between the doors in the B-pillar. The further back ones just keep going down the alphabet.

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lobstah t1_j6t3wxc wrote

I suppose, but how is that different from every other Wally World parking lot ? That bollard is just out there in the wild...not really protecting a doorway or anything. I propose a ginormous traffic cone that they can bounce off !

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Dirty_Lew t1_j6tkmat wrote

Look at it in google maps, the turn is sharper than a 90d angle which makes turning without cutting the corner harder.

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lobstah t1_j6uae53 wrote

That's crazy ! Nobody saw a problem with that design ?

0

Dirty_Lew t1_j6uj3qf wrote

I’m of the opinion the Auburn Planning Board should re-review their site plan and require changes, at least curbs around the striped area.

At this point it’s negligence on the part of Walmart. My conspiracy theory is that it’s an elaborate insurance fraud scheme.

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EngineersAnon t1_j6vgi2y wrote

>At this point it’s negligence on the part of Walmart the driver's hitting the pole.

FTFY

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Dirty_Lew t1_j6wrnko wrote

It’s obviously bad design if this many people have hit it.

−1

EngineersAnon t1_j6ws2gx wrote

That doesn't change the fact that hitting a stationary object is always and solely the responsibility of the driver.

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Dirty_Lew t1_j6wsbts wrote

It legally does though. They would share responsibility because Walmart created the hazard.

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FlyingUdonMonster t1_j6xxg7w wrote

The “hazard” in this case is not the pole. It’s nothing more than good, old-fashioned human stupidity. The people who hit it were turning so early, that you can’t even say they were aiming for the wrong side of the road. They’re not even in the intersection yet, and they’re already turning.

If this were the corner of a residential block, they’d practically be steering toward someone’s porch. If they don’t know enough to pull toward the middle of an intersection before turning their wheels for a left turn, then they need to go back to driving school. It’s not Walmart’s fault people don’t know how to drive!

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Dirty_Lew t1_j6ykwl2 wrote

There are definitely things Walmart can do to prevent more accidents from happening. The planning board has the right to require those. If Walmart didn’t comply they would be negligent. One of the biggest purposes of design standards is to prevent, protect, and mitigate human error.

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FlyingUdonMonster t1_j6yzb6j wrote

The very reason for that pole’s existence is to protect the people who are not in their cars from human error.

If that pole weren’t there, these muppets would be mowing down pedestrians or crashing into parked cars.

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Dirty_Lew t1_j6z5bhf wrote

It’s a stop sign at the end of a parking row, that’s the poles purpose. It does not protect pedestrians. Walmart could put a curb or raised median around the striped area, like many parking lots have, that people would feel before hitting the pole. I don’t dispute that human error is mostly to blame, but it’s hard to argue that it’s not hazard given so many people have hit it. A pole shouldn’t be this infamous.

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FlyingUdonMonster t1_j6zco70 wrote

Bullshit it doesn't protect pedestrians! That's a pedestrian only area that these dipsticks are trying to cut through, except they're being foiled by the pole. If they're not seeing that pole, then they're not seeing wheelchair users going from the handicapped spaces to the entrance either.

It's not Walmart's job to protect fools from the consequences of their own folly. It's a bright yellow pole that is easily visible to anyone who bothers to drive correctly and pay attention. They put those up in all kinds of places to stop vehicles from driving in areas where vehicles don't belong. Regular stop sign poles are not rugged enough to flip over an SUV.

Once again, the pole is not the hazard. The stupid muppets who keep running into it are the actual hazards.

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Dirty_Lew t1_j6zt9e3 wrote

It’s purpose is not to protect pedestrians, it’s purpose is a stop sign rugged enough to survive bumps. The striped area indicates no parking, it does not designate a pedestrian zone. It is not a bollard designed to protect pedestrians from vehicles, it would suck at that job because it keeps getting plowed over. If you cared to notice before talking out your ass, all the yellow poles at Walmart are for signs, they are not bollards.

Walmart does have a responsibility to design and maintain their parking lot in a way to prevent excessive accidents. People get sued for icy driveways for example.

How many commercial site plans have you reviewed or been involved with? You obviously don’t know what you’re talking about.

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FlyingUdonMonster t1_j71arkc wrote

>The striped area indicates no parking, it does not designate a pedestrian zone

And why is it a no parking zone? Oh yeah, because people need access to get to the entrance. In particular, wheelchair users who are parking in the handicap spaces that are right nearby that pole.

That pole has prevented them from getting hit by people who are too damn lazy or incompetent to turn properly.

How many times have you actually been to this Walmart in question? I go there often. There is no excuse for being numb enough to hit that pole from the direction people keep hitting it. It's not a problem with the design of the parking lot. It's a state-wide (really, nation-wide) problem of giving driving licenses to people who are too incompetent to have them, because the required tests don't actually require any real demonstration of driving skill or to be able to pass.

>If you cared to notice before talking out your ass, all the yellow poles at Walmart are for signs, they are not bollards.

So they serve a dual purpose.

>It is not a bollard designed to protect pedestrians from vehicles, it would suck at that job because it keeps getting plowed over.

From the pictures I've seen, it does a wonderful job of stopping most of them dead in their tracks when they hit it. Takes their cars off the road for a bit, too, which at least temporarily increases the safety on public roads while they hitch rides with other people.

>How many commercial site plans have you reviewed or been involved with? You obviously don’t know what you’re talking about.

You know some things I do know? How not to smash my car into a bright, yellow, plainly-visible pole. I also know how to turn my car so that I end up on the correct side of the road. Auburn clearly has a problem with people who don't know these very basic driving skills, but were given licenses anyway. Their licenses should be revoked and the people involved sent back to driving school. Every single one of them turned well before there was actually any road for them to turn onto.

It's not just a minor mistake. This is an "I have never driven a car before and have no idea how steering works" level of incompetence. Engineering is not going to fix that. "Bravo!" to the pole for taking them off the roads, at least temporarily anyway.

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Dirty_Lew t1_j71x06s wrote

It’s no parking because of the layout and angle of the parking spots, and handicap zone, it’s purpose is not a pedestrian safe zone. You’re pulling that claim out of your ass, you don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s only purpose is a stop sign. I go to that Walmart a few times a week, I live five minutes from there, I’m very familiar with it.

You obviously don’t know anything about site plans and what is required. It’s a very obvious design problem. People get in accidents, some responsibility definitely lies with property owners to design their spaces to prevent accidents, not cause them. You sound like a ranting middle schooler acting like they have the whole world figured out.

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FlyingUdonMonster t1_j71yt4j wrote

And you sound like a person who can’t accept responsibility for your own faults and has to pass the blame off onto others.

Pay attention when you’re driving. Drive on the correct side of the road. And turn properly into the correct lane, without cutting corners. Do those things, and that pole is a non-issue.

You obviously know nothing about the responsibility that comes with operating a motor vehicle, and ensuring that you don’t endanger others around you, if you think a highly visible, stationary object that is not in any lane of travel, nor in any sensible path for a left turn down that aisle, is the problem here.

All the engineering in the world can’t fix stupid, and that’s the only thing that’s causing these crashes.

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Dirty_Lew t1_j721jua wrote

I’ve said multiple times that human error is mostly to blame. You’re the one steadfastly denying that the poor design has anything to do with why so many people happen to crash into this one pole. No, it has to just be extremely coincidental that all these bad drivers happen to hit the same pole. The design is perfect.

Good luck on your crusade to make everyone a perfectly attentive driver. Meanwhile I’ll continue to operate in the real world.

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FlyingUdonMonster t1_j74kxi9 wrote

>You’re the one steadfastly denying that the poor design has anything to do with why so many people happen to crash into this one pole.

It absolutely is perfect! That pole is a local folk hero at this point. It's taking dangerous drivers out, one by one, making the roads (at least temporarily) safer for the rest of us, and hopefully giving them a humbling lesson they won't soon forget about paying attention to what they're doing when driving.

>I’ve said multiple times that human error is mostly to blame.

This is well beyond the ordinary types of human error that lead to typical parking lot mishaps. These people are turning left so ridiculously early that, not only are they missing the correct lane, but they're also missing the oncoming lane.

The problem is less that they don't realize where that pole is, and more that they have lost track of where the actual road is that they're supposed to be driving on. They'd be on the sidewalk or in the ditch if this were a public road instead of a parking lot! That pole is not obscured by the A-pillar blind spot at any point where it makes sense to begin turning your steering wheel to the left to go around that corner. And they're not just scraping it because they get a little too close; they're mostly smashing into it head on! That one guy even managed to flip his vehicle over. How dangerously fast must he have been going in a congested parking lot to manage that‽

I've driven through that entrance and made that very left turn many times. It's blatantly obvious what path you need to take to make that left if you have the most basic understanding of how cars steer, and have even a small amount of spatial awareness.

>Good luck on your crusade to make everyone a perfectly attentive driver. Meanwhile I’ll continue to operate in the real world.

The crusade isn't to make everyone a good driver, but to get the bad ones on the bus, or some other form of public transit, instead. Our country made a grave mistake when it built all of its infrastructure around the assumption that everyone should drive their own private cars, and its going to take generations of work to undo that foolishness.

0

lobstah t1_j6v7dzo wrote

Probably, or a parking volume maximization issue. They could make it easier to navigate, but lose 25-30 prime spaces...it's in the math.

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Coffee-FlavoredSweat t1_j6tjalx wrote

When making a left hand turn down that row, the sign can get hidden in the blind spot made by the A-pillar on the driver’s side. People don’t see it, think they can cut the corner, and run right into it.

The actual solution would be to raise the entire area with the painted cross hatch lines, and people will always be able to see that there’s a curb there and not make the mistake of cutting the corner,

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2SticksPureRage t1_j6ts2iz wrote

I don’t get this. Usually people hit it coming from the opposite direction. Are both sides lit up or only this side?

The reality is it’s avoided a hell of a lot more than it’s hit so I don’t think it’s too hard to see.

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Pi-eatr t1_j6wguia wrote

I also don't get the urge when turning left, to leave the right lane, cross the entire left lane, cross the parking spot that's left of the left lane and hit the pole....drivers must be 40 feet off from the normal course of travel before the pole is lined up with their A-pillar blind spot. Anyone off course this far when traveling a regular street would find themselves in a field or woods beyond the left-side drainage ditch. Let's try to save 30 seconds of listening to a great song on the radio, waiting for people to cross so that we can stare at the 75% lean and 80% lean ground beef an extra 5 minutes, deciding whether to spend the extra 25¢ "for health".

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Coffee-FlavoredSweat t1_j6tzdx0 wrote

Naw, if you look at a Google image’s search, almost all of the pictures are people who hit it while trying to make a left turn.

1

2SticksPureRage t1_j6urucz wrote

This is exactly what I’m saying. Coming from the opposite direction than the picture above shows.

My guess is their cutting it short to take that horizontal handicap spot right after the sign and are having object fixation and not seeing the Ballard at all.

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DrMcMeow t1_j6v6aj5 wrote

> raise the entire area with the painted cross hatch lines

can't do that because of the corridor ADA requirements from the handicapped spaces. walmart has a team of civil engineers and lawyers dedicated to their parking lot layouts. every sign and line is specified down to the inch.

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Coffee-FlavoredSweat t1_j6wg5zv wrote

I don’t buy it.

But the other solution is to just get rid of the sign.

I’ve never see another parking lot that has a stop sign at the end of the row on the building side like that.

1

ButIDigress79 t1_j6tyijc wrote

This pole is Maine’s biggest celebrity right now

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Solodc1983 t1_j6sx2ry wrote

My guess, 1.5 hours

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Emp3r0r_01 t1_j6wg36e wrote

Nah give them some credit... at least half a day... maybe a full week.

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Famous_Quality_5931 t1_j6t6e2p wrote

If someone wants to go half on the repair cost I’ll gettah done by 3.

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raggedtoad t1_j6ta154 wrote

They could build humanity's first space elevator right there and grandma Gladys would still find a way to dementia her way on top of it.

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proto-prop t1_j6tan03 wrote

Lol, I just drove up there from Portland a few weeks ago to see this infamous bollard in person.

On an slightly related side note from my one Sunday morning visit, the Auburn WalMart feels way busier than the Scarborough and Falmouth ones.

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eljefino t1_j6u0nni wrote

It's stealing survival energy from the nearby, nearly dead, Auburn Mall.

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DidDunMegasploded t1_j6uhu2a wrote

> Sunday morning visit

> Sunday morning

> feels way busier

Well there's the issue.

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Dizzyluffy t1_j6ur38j wrote

Should’ve painted the cement barriers yellow too imo, and put a camera on the sign so we can see the drivers reaction when they nail it!

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BigFatBlindPanda t1_j7i1psg wrote

It happened:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Maine/comments/10vikia/yuhp/

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Trekette t1_j7jd98r wrote

Am I losing my mind? That one is a completely different parking lot...? There's a dark building with a bunch of windows in front of the pole - the one in this post doesn't have that.

Are there two of these?

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Seyword t1_j6ugrup wrote

As soon as the lights go out on that sign.

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Derstilweedndat t1_j6su150 wrote

What would your "solution" be?

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Antnee83 t1_j6szx6w wrote

  • Proximity activated trainhorn

  • Make it look like a person holding a sign

  • Replace it with an inflatable flailing arms tube man

  • Armed security force that fires without warning

  • Pile a bunch of empty shipping containers around it

  • Straight up just remove the goddamn thing because what is it even there for, since you don't need a stop sign to understand that you're supposed to stop at the end of a row of parking spaces like literally this is driving 101 why is there a stop sign there

  • Add a second stop sign a few feet from this one, so that people stop before plowing into them both

  • >!The Second Stop Sign is actually a Decoy Snail!<

  • Tire spikes

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raggedtoad t1_j6ta8kb wrote

Excuse me... I think you meant WACKY WAVING INFLATABLE ARM FLAILING TUBE MAN!!!

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Right_In_The_Tits t1_j6to4bo wrote

Create a one way portal that encircles the sign that sends the car to the back of parking lot

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[deleted] t1_j6u0dp7 wrote

[deleted]

−4

DidDunMegasploded t1_j6uhdy9 wrote

Ah yes, because what people should do in a parking lot is go full Sonic the Hedgehog and book it across the lot like there's a pile of free money and you have to get it first. Walking? You a pussy or something? Real men and real women run. This is track and field, bitch, not a springtime stroll!

Nice job showing your fatphobia, by the way. Gives me a good insight into one of the regulars of this subreddit.

1

Arsenault185 OP t1_j6up42s wrote

What was the comment?

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DidDunMegasploded t1_j6upwq3 wrote

He said the one-way portal would be a good way to "avoid the lard-asses that push their carts at a half-mile-per-hour".

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Arsenault185 OP t1_j6sunvh wrote

Not sure, to be honest. It blows my fucking mind that people keep running into a pole in the first place.

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OurWhoresAreClean t1_j6te4wl wrote

>What would your "solution" be?

Well, this Walmart we're talking about, so: Make it known that anyone who hits the pole will henceforth no longer be allowed to wear pajama bottoms and Crocs into the store.

Problem solved.

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Nobel6skull t1_j6t5vyg wrote

Force everyone who runs into it to retake the drivers license test.

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Arsenault185 OP t1_j6too1k wrote

Real answer: something moving. A little arm on a servo with a flag.

The motion will catch peoples eyes way better.

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AssumptionLivid6879 t1_j6tqq2y wrote

One-way only, angled one-way parking. Lanes wide enough just to fit a normal car.

Large amount of pedestrian crossing speed bumps so pedestrians can be crossing at a higher height since humans are almost not visible anymore to pickup trucks.

Have inflow from the street to outflow, so it stops people from cruising around for the best spot.

1

timkyoung t1_j6tmz9k wrote

How about continuing the parking stalls all the way to the end of the aisle?

0

2SticksPureRage t1_j6tsbs4 wrote

Potentially, taking out the handicap spot right before this picture on the same side. I think people cut it tight to get to that pull in handicap spot and see blinders with the pole.

0

Coffee-FlavoredSweat t1_j6tis1p wrote

They just need to take that cross hatched area and build up an island. People hit the pole because it ends up in their blind spot as they’re trying to make a left hand turn. If the entire area were an island, you’d have other visual cues that you can’t make the turn yet, when the sign is hidden.

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yzfmike t1_j6tnwls wrote

Well they did 4 of em, so 4x fun now.......

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PhysicsRefugee t1_j6u9hbe wrote

I love every time the local Walmart shows up on Reddit. It's like a hometown celebrity.

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snoman187 t1_j6wy2v7 wrote

Careful what you ask for I already see a line forming.

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DidDunMegasploded t1_j6tans6 wrote

Okay, the barriers are fine. I can understand the barriers.

But what in the holy McFuck does the light-up stop sign add? People aren't usually ramming into it front-first, they knock it over because they're turning to the left. Slap those bad boys on the back and maybe you have something.

...

Your move, Biddeford. You may not have the money to renovate the Target, but you can at least do this. Play your damn cards.

1

eljefino t1_j6u0jz9 wrote

It'll make the photos and memes better.

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Arsenault185 OP t1_j6totk8 wrote

Biddeford? Is three an issue at the biddeford target?

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DidDunMegasploded t1_j6ufmbh wrote

No. It's just that the Biddeford Target has been slacking on renovations for years unlike its SoPo cousin, which boasts a grocery section and new carts. (TBF though, it looks better on the outside than the outdated SoPo location. So there's that.)

I made the comparison because Target and Walmart are like siblings. The same issue with people running into this pole also happens at the Biddeford Walmart, though definitely not as frequent as what happens in Auburn.

0

ghstber t1_j6tucq1 wrote

While I understand what you mean, if I owned a Jeep I'd probably park one wheel on one for the photo op and general cheekiness.

1

JEMColorado t1_j6u8zp6 wrote

You need a pool for the pole.

1

crypticalcat t1_j6uarhs wrote

If i still had ah beetah id pahk it theyah an walk away

1

BigFatBlindPanda t1_j6v2472 wrote

Blinded by the light they won't see the gray barriers. Need to light them puppies up too.

1

Vel0clty t1_j6v3hrh wrote

The tiny Jersey barriers LMAO 🤣👌🏻

1

Philipodante t1_j6vaj09 wrote

I'm surprised someone actually got a picture

1

diaryofsnow t1_j6w4jer wrote

Here's a crazy idea - remove all of it.

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scooterm32a3 t1_j6wtiq7 wrote

If it’s in auburn I give it a week tops

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cheri59 t1_j6wtrsj wrote

Thelma and Louise at your service

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Slow_Independent_44 t1_j6wwb3c wrote

What's the point spread on this? We all know it's going to happen. Just a matter of when

1

Ebomb1 t1_j6tgsd7 wrote

theytried.jpg

0