Scotty Townsend Rumor

[JoeyA]

I dont know exactly how far it is to the water, only that its to damn far for me!

I should post pictures of the width of the lanes that you have to drive on. There are two lanes going each direction across the bridge and you have to have to have steely nerves to pass anyone let alone a truck or other large vehicle. Many people won't drive across it because the lanes are SO narrow. Ironically I have never seen an accident on the bridge. In addition to the bridge itself and all of the traffic, if that isn't good enough the train passes on the same structure/bridge.

BTW another piece of 2nd hand info about Scotty is that the nay sayers were trying to get additional bets down that Scotty would not jump, but Scotty had already leaped over the side of the bridge while they were talking.
JoeyA

 

[hemicudas]

You are speeding!!!

Back in the 70s there was a radar detector set up on the bridge. You didn't get arrested for speeding but a flashing sign would lite up if you were stating, "You Are Speeding". At that time in my life we were all making Drs. for diet pills and it was easy to get paranoid every time you saw that flashing sign, wondering how in the hell they knew?

This photo will give you a better idea of how high the Huey P. Long really is. I don't know. You tell me.

 

[MVPCues]

Back in the 70s there was a radar detector set up on the bridge. You didn't get arrested for speeding but a flashing sign would lite up if you were stating, "You Are Speeding". At that time in my life we were all making Drs. for diet pills and it was easy to get paranoid every time you saw that flashing sign, wondering how in the hell they knew?

This photo will give you a better idea of how high the Huey P. Long really is. I don't know. You tell me.

One way to look at the picture is how tall of a building could you put under the bridge sitting on the water? How many floors in the building? For arguments, 10 feet per floor? Can you put a 7 story building in there? It looks to me like about 70 or 80 feet.

Kelly

 

[jay helfert]

Back in the 70s there was a radar detector set up on the bridge. You didn't get arrested for speeding but a flashing sign would lite up if you were stating, "You Are Speeding". At that time in my life we were all making Drs. for diet pills and it was easy to get paranoid every time you saw that flashing sign, wondering how in the hell they knew?

This photo will give you a better idea of how high the Huey P. Long really is. I don't know. You tell me.

Bill, you need to take another photo with you standing on the railing. That way we have some perspective. Haha
Just don't slip and fall.

 

[jay helfert]

Back in the 70s there was a radar detector set up on the bridge. You didn't get arrested for speeding but a flashing sign would lite up if you were stating, "You Are Speeding". At that time in my life we were all making Drs. for diet pills and it was easy to get paranoid every time you saw that flashing sign, wondering how in the hell they knew?

This photo will give you a better idea of how high the Huey P. Long really is. I don't know. You tell me.

Hard to tell without seeing a car or a person for perspective. It looks about 100 feet to me, but I'm totally guessing here.

 

[Russ Chewning]

Ironically I have never seen an accident on the bridge.

Not ironic. New research is saying that the safer an area "seems", the less attentive drivers are to their driving. The converse of this is, the more dangerous an area seems, the safer people drive.

Four way intersections with no stoplights or signs have been found in a lot of instances to have a MUCH lower accident rate. Drivers also tend to drive 4-5 MPH in the areas surrounding the 4-way intersection, notwithstanding that traffic patterns may get a little backed up at times. Though, the research times seem to show that commute times are shorter without the traffic lights and signs, which makes sense. But the fact that people drive SLOWER through these areas and commutes are shorter is interesting.

This research is leading some city planners to take out traffic lights and warning signs in small areas to see the effects on accident rates.

This is the same way an animal acts. If it smells something "wrong" on the wind, it gets incredibly cautious.

But I am sure this is entirely coincidence, and evolution has nothing to do with it.

Russ

 

[MOJOE]

Dead Money G already posted the height!

One way to look at the picture is how tall of a building could you put under the bridge sitting on the water? How many floors in the building? For arguments, 10 feet per floor? Can you put a 7 story building in there? It looks to me like about 70 or 80 feet.

Kelly

Try a 13 story building according to an earlier post. You could not pay me enough cash to jump!!

 

[1-pocket-player]

I don't know how accurate Wikipedia is on the subject but it says that the clearance below is 113 feet.

Here is the link- Huey P. Long Bridge.

-Andy

 

[jay helfert]

Try a 13 story building according to an earlier post. You could not pay me enough cash to jump!!

It won't do you much good if you're dead.

 

[MVPCues]

I don't know how accurate Wikipedia is on the subject but it says that the clearance below is 113 feet.

Here is the link- Huey P. Long Bridge.

-Andy

Yeah, I looked it up as well. The question is what point are they measuring from? The bottom, the top, or the midpoint of the structure? Logic would say the bottom, but you never know. If someone was wanting to make claims, they may report the top of the structure. They also could report it based on low water level.

Jay may be right though, it could be right at a 100. I will donate $5 to have someone go up there with a range finder or a 100 foot rope.

Kelly

 

[wayne]

I just read the whole thread and it is a very entertaining one. If they ever have
a vote for best thread started that the starter got banned for I would vote for this one. As it turns out the question was a very legitimate one and the poster did not deserve to be ridiculed. A check of his earlier posts shows he was not an offensive poster at all.

As it turns out the first post in response to his question was very offensive to him because he was just asking a very legitimate question (as it turns out).

Of course after that it spiraled out of control. However, if I were the moderator,
I would have recognized that the first response was obviously (based on later reports on Townsend) totally uncalled for. If it had happened live in a pool hall it could have resulted in the second poster taking a beating for being an a..hole.
I have seen this occur on occasion.

Of course no one gets voted back in but if I could I would vote that the original poster be forgiven for everything that resulted from the unprovoked criticism of his right to post a legitimate question. I would also vote that the first response be voted the most incorrect evaluation of the legitimacy of a post. The original poster should have had some kind of protection.

 

[MVPCues]

I just read the whole thread and it is a very entertaining one. If they ever have
a vote for best thread started that the starter got banned for I would vote for this one. As it turns out the question was a very legitimate one and the poster did not deserve to be ridiculed. A check of his earlier posts shows he was not an offensive poster at all.

As it turns out the first post in response to his question was very offensive to him because he was just asking a very legitimate question (as it turns out).

Of course after that it spiraled out of control. However, if I were the moderator,
I would have recognized that the first response was obviously (based on later reports on Townsend) totally uncalled for. If it had happened live in a pool hall it could have resulted in the second poster taking a beating for being an a..hole.
I have seen this occur on occasion.

Of course no one gets voted back in but if I could I would vote that the original poster be forgiven for everything that resulted from the unprovoked criticism of his right to post a legitimate question. I would also vote that the first response be voted the most incorrect evaluation of the legitimacy of a post. The original poster should have had some kind of protection.

Ofcourse the original poster could have come back and stated he wasn't a troll and given the stories he has heard about Scotty, he meant it as a serious thread.

Instead, his response to Russ was STFU, called him an a$$, and called him a loser. That was mild compared to what he said shortly later. The guy did not help his case one bit, and a calm response from him would have not resulted in him being banned.

Kelly

 

[hemicudas]

This will give you an idea of what JoeyA is talking about when he mentions how narrow the lanes are on the Huey P. Note the truck is not a large one and yet his mirror is in the motorcyclist's lane. Trucks are not allowed to pass each other. Also note the tire rubber scraped off on the curbs.

 

[SpiderWebComm]

I am hot on the trail of the FACTS concerning Scotty Townsend and his jump off of the bridge. I have it on good sources that he did jump off of the Mississippi River Bridge called the Huey P. Long Bridge which is located in Metairie, LA where I live. I must have missed it but have got a couple of names of people who supposedly were there and am in the process of checking them out. There are plenty of speculation about who actually witnessed it and I want all of you to know that I will get to the bottom of this legend.

Some people claim that he climbed to the TOP of the Huey P. Long Bridge (don't know how high that is) and jumped with all of his clothes on. The bet was for either $5400.00 or $3400.00 and they were trying to get more bets down as Scotty jumped over the side of the bridge into the Mississippi River. When he finally made land he supposedly went straight to the hospital with TWO sprain wrists/arms. AZ's roving reporter is on the job.
JoeyA

So much for trying to entertain the group w/ my stories on the thread. Next time I wanna tell a story, I'll be sure to get witnesses, affadavits, signed allegations, and your OK Mr AZ reporter. *rolling my eyes to death* Mr. Big Time

 

[SpiderWebComm]

I just read the whole thread and it is a very entertaining one. If they ever have
a vote for best thread started that the starter got banned for I would vote for this one. As it turns out the question was a very legitimate one and the poster did not deserve to be ridiculed. A check of his earlier posts shows he was not an offensive poster at all.

As it turns out the first post in response to his question was very offensive to him because he was just asking a very legitimate question (as it turns out).

Of course after that it spiraled out of control. However, if I were the moderator,
I would have recognized that the first response was obviously (based on later reports on Townsend) totally uncalled for. If it had happened live in a pool hall it could have resulted in the second poster taking a beating for being an a..hole.
I have seen this occur on occasion.

Of course no one gets voted back in but if I could I would vote that the original poster be forgiven for everything that resulted from the unprovoked criticism of his right to post a legitimate question. I would also vote that the first response be voted the most incorrect evaluation of the legitimacy of a post. The original poster should have had some kind of protection.

You're right. His original post was totally legit. I think the accuser should get banned for being an AZ policeman.

 

[ShootingArts]

exactly why I won't make any bets he won't do it again!

I like Scotty. Always have. I would pay him NOT to jump.

That is exactly why I won't bet that he wouldn't do it again. Regardless of the height, that is a very dangerous jump. I wouldn't want to lose Scotty or see him crippled for life, both real possibilities.

As for the lanes, they are eighteen feet wide. Back in the early seventies I used to take a twenty foot bobtail across there all the time and trucks sometimes passed trucks. It was tight. Two trucks are sixteen feet wide or a bit more, not much room left for error. To make matters worse they built the bridge from both sides and there is a little jog in it where the two sides didn't quite meet as planned. I dodge crossing it in my pick-up and SUV now.

Hu

 

[Russ Chewning]

I just read the whole thread and it is a very entertaining one. If they ever have
a vote for best thread started that the starter got banned for I would vote for this one. As it turns out the question was a very legitimate one and the poster did not deserve to be ridiculed. A check of his earlier posts shows he was not an offensive poster at all.

As it turns out the first post in response to his question was very offensive to him because he was just asking a very legitimate question (as it turns out).

Of course after that it spiraled out of control. However, if I were the moderator,
I would have recognized that the first response was obviously (based on later reports on Townsend) totally uncalled for. If it had happened live in a pool hall it could have resulted in the second poster taking a beating for being an a..hole.
I have seen this occur on occasion.

Of course no one gets voted back in but if I could I would vote that the original poster be forgiven for everything that resulted from the unprovoked criticism of his right to post a legitimate question. I would also vote that the first response be voted the most incorrect evaluation of the legitimacy of a post. The original poster should have had some kind of protection.

Oh, get off the soap box..

If it wasn't Fast Larry, it was someone just like him.

Just because the thread self stabilized once he got banned, doesn't mean the guy wasn't a troll.

Sheeesh.. He was an idiot that got banned. if he didn't get banned because of this thread, he would have gotten banned because of another thread. Doesn't pay to have thin skin..

Russ

 

[Russ Chewning]

You're right. His original post was totally legit. I think the accuser should get banned for being an AZ policeman.

Wouldn't thinking that make YOU an AZ policeman?

(Kettle here, thinking Pot should quit calling him names...)

Russ

 

[wayne]

VIP,

Heh heh.. The first iteration of my response was fairly harsh... I went back and read it, and changed it to some friendly advice just in case the poster was serious and well intentioned..

Dunno if he was serious, but he does seem to have a temper...

He probably would have hunted me down and shot me if he saw my first response..

A kinder, gentler Russ

Russ I am really glad you are working on being a kinder, gentler a..hole! If what you corrected it to was your milder version then you are lucky you did tone it down. I assume you are very proud that your response got a person who asked a legitimate question banned.

Of course you are so self-righteous you could never admit that what you did was dead wrong.

P.S. Be sure not to give the wifey the income tax money.

 

[Russ Chewning]

P.S. Be sure not to give the wifey the income tax money.

I'll be giving at least $100 of it to your wife.. (wink wink)

Now... Wanna throw out any other snide insults?

Russ