Tree falls on bystander

[jmack]

flag girls

You mean flag people? I know some awesome female climbers.

dont knock the flag chicks there are awsome they slow down the traffic and keep things running smooth especially if there hot. they keep it calm on the roads and whos going to get mad at a cute chick directing traffic

 

[jmack]

traffic

Working with people is at times nuts. Even with the police there to direct traffic I had a lady pull up (on the sidewalk)and stop (park her car) next to a tree that was already cut (notched) on one side to fall. Only to ask, "Why are you cutting down that beautifull tree?" All stop while the policeman spent the next 5 miniutes talking her into moving her car. The tree had dropped a limb through a cars windshield (owner worked for the Magistrate) the night before. Then the neighbors son on another job (9 yr old mind) wrapped in a 17 yr old body (mentally challenged) heard the saws and came to have a look see. Walked under the tree. Alert homeowner grabbed him and walked him a safe distance away. Grounman was ineffective. Homeowner knew the kid.
Tape/cones and traffic control may help and then there are times when it doesn't. Staying alert to what's happening around you without being distracted is a very tough job part of the job. The longer you're at this the more crazies you're likely going to see. Not everyone uses common sense. Like the guy in the Humvee last week drives through the limbs, on the street, while the crew is cutting them up. Wind had blown a tree over the phone lines, man in the boom facing away from the Humvee cutting limbs loose. Ground crew dashes to get out of the way of the oncoming Humvee.
Try as you may you're not going to get cooperation from everyone. I don't do utility work but I've seen my share of crazies out there.

logs inside cones, tight cone zone yesterday a spazz didnt like it so he patch and sped through the work zone. stop sign on a stick is helpful kkep the plates if they pass you they just ran a stop sign, pass it on and do what you got to do.

 

[PWB]

Done some "traffic control" on roadwork, lots of people don't pay attention. More than one vehicle has a BIG scape down the side from ignoring the the "STOP" paddle. One of my "superiors" claimed he used to carry a hammer...... The flagman(person?) HAS to protect the guys in the work area....... Stop sign in front of their face (windshield) usually gets their attention. Had them drive passt signs, around the wrong side of cones on gravel instead of where they should be on pavement.... (80 kmh roads)

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

dont knock the flag chicks there are awsome they slow down the traffic and keep things running smooth especially if there hot. they keep it calm on the roads and whos going to get mad at a cute chick directing traffic

In my Army days, there was an MP who manned (?) the south gate to our post and slowed traffic just by standing there. You can imagine she had to be something special if she could do that while wearing fatigues!

 

[Treeblitzer]

It doesn't`t matter how much safety you have out. Sighs,Cones,Marking Tape .There are still stupid people out there that just chose to ignore or say that they didn't see it. We were doing a Locust removal down by a hospital. We had all of safety stuff out,I was just getting ready to drop the top when my Trimmer yelled up at me to stop. I looked down to see this gut dressed in a white lad coat duck under our taped off area a not even look up.I yelled down at him and asked him who he was,He looked up and told me he was a surgeon. Well that cracked me up ,so I asked him if it was ok to plant this log on him. The guy copped a attitude ,so I did the only thing I could think of at the moment.Started the 044 ,That got him running You would think a doctor would be a little bit smarter than that.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

That got him running

You would think a doctor would be a little bit smarter than that.

Only if you haven't been around doctors much. Talk to some nurses - the only thing bigger than a doctor's paycheck is his ego.

And lots of them are downright STUPID.

 

[Asa]

Working with people is at times nuts. Even with the police there to direct traffic I had a lady pull up (on the sidewalk)and stop (park her car) next to a tree that was already cut (notched) on one side to fall. Only to ask, "Why are you cutting down that beautifull tree?" All stop while the policeman spent the next 5 miniutes talking her into moving her car. The tree had dropped a limb through a cars windshield (owner worked for the Magistrate) the night before. Then the neighbors son on another job (9 yr old mind) wrapped in a 17 yr old body (mentally challenged) heard the saws and came to have a look see. Walked under the tree. Alert homeowner grabbed him and walked him a safe distance away. Grounman was ineffective. Homeowner knew the kid.
Tape/cones and traffic control may help and then there are times when it doesn't. Staying alert to what's happening around you without being distracted is a very tough job part of the job. The longer you're at this the more crazies you're likely going to see. Not everyone uses common sense. Like the guy in the Humvee last week drives through the limbs, on the street, while the crew is cutting them up. Wind had blown a tree over the phone lines, man in the boom facing away from the Humvee cutting limbs loose. Ground crew dashes to get out of the way of the oncoming Humvee.
Try as you may you're not going to get cooperation from everyone. I don't do utility work but I've seen my share of crazies out there.

I can only agree some people just dont care. Especially cyclists have a tendency to sneak past cones undetected I find. I was grounding for my boss, had a coned off area, including signs and tape. This cyclist decided to just sneak trough. Didnt see him till he was already in the dropzone, I shouted just as my boss dropped a heavy limb. It missed him with maybe a metre, and he just biked on as nothing happened..

On one other memorable occasion the very homeowner we were working for decided to come and ask us for some extras, approaching us from just in front of the tree we just put a gob in.. Saw her just as he was about to start the backcut..

Despite all this I do agree tho it is ultimately ours -the pros- job to keep bystanders as safe as possible even if some of them dont seem to care too much themselves at times. :greenchainsaw:

 

[murphy4trees]

I had cut a notch and plunge cut for a back release on a heavy front leaning medium sized Norway Maple this afternoon, and came down to get the camera and take a few pictures when the customer showed up out of no where and started walking right under the tree with his 5 year old daughter hand in hand...

the chipper was runnig in the backround so no verbal communication was possible... I started waving my arms and hands frantically.... he thought I was just waving high at first. later after i dropped the piece he told me that when I started cutting the little girl wanted to move even further back.. Apparently she had more sense than him. The site was under construction... I hadn't seen anyone there all day til I looked up and there he was walking right into the kill zone.

 

[BoesTreeService]

Both sides of the argument are right. People are idiots and will enter the drops zones. But - Its our job to protect our drop zones from these people. Just because some of them will ignore all our signs, cones, and even step over scene tape-doesn't excuse us from using all of them. Those majority of people who will abide by our warnings deserve them, in spite of the idiots who won't. And I'm sure the legal ramifications of these measures will CYA.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

I think you nailed it, Boe.