According to San Francisco’s Public Utilities Commission, a lamp post that toppled over and nearly crushed a driver had been terminally compromised by a most deadly combination: human and dog urine.
KTVU reports that the three-story-tall pole snapped and fell onto an occupied car at around 6:30 p.m. Monday night, (though commenter Shaqapopolis says the event actually occurred Sunday) at the Nob Hill intersection of Pine and Taylor.
Luckily, the driver escaped injury, and was just shaken up by the experience. But why did the structure fall in the first place?
A PUC spokesperson acknowledged that the light was old, but said that it wasn’t just age that felled the massive pole, it was pee. Lots and lots of pee.
“We believe there was some contribution of dog or human urine on the base of the pole,†PUC spokesman Tyrone Jue told the Chron, saying that pee “accelerates the corrosion of the metal base of street poles.”
“The base or the bottom of the pole was rusted out and that contributed to the pole falling down,†another PUC spokesperson, Charles Sheehan, told KTVU.
http://sfist.com/2015/08/05/urine_trouble.php
Well, peeproof poles are required today.