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To be honest, as a human driver I'd not give a second thought to driving over a hose. Not saying that is right or not, just surprised this is apparently an iss

To be honest, as a human driver I'd not give a second thought to driving over a hose. Not saying that is right or not, just surprised this is apparently an issue worth smashing a car up for. I have no recollection of this being in the highway code for instance

ghaff 4y ago
Seriously? You'd just drive over a firehose because it was in your way?
- mattlondon 4y ago
  Yeah I would.
  - rootusrootus 4y ago
    That is unintentionally the best argument for autonomous vehicles I've seen in a while.
  - ykl 4y ago
    You will at a minimum get a ticket and very likely you will get your car smashed by some very angry firefighters / police. If you rupture the hose, you will also get an extremely expensive bill to replace the hose. If the hoses catches or the water pressure drop screws up something on the firefighting side or results in injury or other damage, you'll be held liable for that too. California Vehicle Code § 21708: "No person shall drive or propel any vehicle or conveyance upon, over, or across, or in any manner damage any fire hose or chemical hose used by or under the supervision and control of any organized fire department." I dunno man, that's an enormous amount of downside to take in exchange for avoiding the minor inconvenience of just finding a detour so as to not drive over the hose.
- lmm 4y ago
  I've ridden over cleaning hoses (and one time a boat's hose that I assume was supplying water or fuel or something) without a second thought. Obviously I'd be careful around an emergency vehicle setup with lights and sirens and all that, but just a random hose lying across the road? Yeah I'd probably drive over it without thinking.
- CamperBob2 4y ago
  Why shouldn't I, if it's not illegal to do so? If it's a bad thing to do, it would say so in my state's driver's handbook, wouldn't it? In reality, yes, I'd back up and find another way, if the hose appeared to be in use fighting a fire. I wouldn't want to cut off the water even momentarily. But that falls into the category of "Not being a dick behind the wheel," rather than the category of "Obeying the law." If we don't want this to happen with self-driving cars, then we need to change the law.
mnd999 4y ago
The article makes it clear driving over a fire hose violates California’s vehicle code.
LarryMullins 4y ago
Firefighters don't care about your car windows if you get in their way. Do an image search for "fire hose through car" if you want a good laugh. Park in front of a hydrant and firefighters will smash your windows and put the hose straight through it.
rootusrootus 4y ago
Have you ever seen a firehose in action? It is commonly 2.5 inches in diameter, and my first reaction on seeing one is "that does not look like something I want to drive over." Completely separate from the fact that it is a firehose, if you put down a 2.5 inch diameter pipe on the road, I'd feel the same way about not driving over it.
- mattlondon 4y ago
  They're 45mm. So like a coke can in diameter. Speed bumps - which are everywhere - are allowed to be up to 100mm: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/1025/regulation/4/made https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/1025/regulation/4/m.... I drive over speed bumps all the time and they're more than twice the height.

ghaff 4y ago

Seriously? You'd just drive over a firehose because it was in your way?

mattlondon 4y ago
Yeah I would.
- rootusrootus 4y ago
  That is unintentionally the best argument for autonomous vehicles I've seen in a while.
- ykl 4y ago
  You will at a minimum get a ticket and very likely you will get your car smashed by some very angry firefighters / police. If you rupture the hose, you will also get an extremely expensive bill to replace the hose. If the hoses catches or the water pressure drop screws up something on the firefighting side or results in injury or other damage, you'll be held liable for that too. California Vehicle Code § 21708: "No person shall drive or propel any vehicle or conveyance upon, over, or across, or in any manner damage any fire hose or chemical hose used by or under the supervision and control of any organized fire department." I dunno man, that's an enormous amount of downside to take in exchange for avoiding the minor inconvenience of just finding a detour so as to not drive over the hose.
lmm 4y ago
I've ridden over cleaning hoses (and one time a boat's hose that I assume was supplying water or fuel or something) without a second thought. Obviously I'd be careful around an emergency vehicle setup with lights and sirens and all that, but just a random hose lying across the road? Yeah I'd probably drive over it without thinking.
CamperBob2 4y ago
Why shouldn't I, if it's not illegal to do so? If it's a bad thing to do, it would say so in my state's driver's handbook, wouldn't it? In reality, yes, I'd back up and find another way, if the hose appeared to be in use fighting a fire. I wouldn't want to cut off the water even momentarily. But that falls into the category of "Not being a dick behind the wheel," rather than the category of "Obeying the law." If we don't want this to happen with self-driving cars, then we need to change the law.

mnd999 4y ago

The article makes it clear driving over a fire hose violates California’s vehicle code.

LarryMullins 4y ago

Firefighters don't care about your car windows if you get in their way. Do an image search for "fire hose through car" if you want a good laugh. Park in front of a hydrant and firefighters will smash your windows and put the hose straight through it.

rootusrootus 4y ago

Have you ever seen a firehose in action? It is commonly 2.5 inches in diameter, and my first reaction on seeing one is "that does not look like something I want to drive over." Completely separate from the fact that it is a firehose, if you put down a 2.5 inch diameter pipe on the road, I'd feel the same way about not driving over it.

mattlondon 4y ago
They're 45mm. So like a coke can in diameter. Speed bumps - which are everywhere - are allowed to be up to 100mm: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/1025/regulation/4/made https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/1025/regulation/4/m.... I drive over speed bumps all the time and they're more than twice the height.