I hope these nets work
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (325755)
Rockingham, Australia
July 8, 2017 4:52am CST
From Lourdes in France, we headed into the Pyrenees. In places the road was very narrow and we were climbing round the sides of mountains. There were signs warning of the possibility of falling rocks and we gathered they weren’t kidding when we drove under these nets which I presume were meant to catch any wayward stones.
I can’t imagine such nets catching huge boulders but I guess they’re better than nothing. Despite careful looking, I couldn’t see any boulders in the nets so that was a relief.
16 people like this
20 responses
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
8 Jul 17
they can probably catch small rocks - bigger ones would just bounce off or tear right through them
4 people like this
@JudyEv (325755)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Jul 17
@arthurchappell @JolietJake That's true. I'm sure they're just meant for rubble.
2 people like this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
8 Jul 17
@JudyEv it could save motorists from terrible injury or worse so a great idea
2 people like this
@JudyEv (325755)
• Rockingham, Australia
9 Jul 17
@arthurchappell Other areas have wire or netting attached to the sides. We see that in Australia too.
1 person likes this
@peachpurple (13884)
• Malaysia
8 Jul 17
That is a scary scene, you should avoid. Hard to predict when the huge rocks might fall down
3 people like this
@JudyEv (325755)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Jul 17
@peachpurple I think an alternative route would have taken us miles out of our way.
1 person likes this
@peachpurple (13884)
• Malaysia
9 Jul 17
@JudyEv
Should had blocked the road and suggest alternative route
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
8 Jul 17
Not all that far from us is a section in the Blue Ridge that has had many bad rock slides resulting in deaths and the road being torn up many times. Now there is a huge section with nets like this and the last time we went thru there we noticed a new section with them. Yes, they work and if they didn't have them we would not take that route ever again. A few years back the one section of road was closed for many months detouring people on a route 3 hours out of their way.
2 people like this
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
8 Jul 17
@JudyEv This road runs along the ocoee River in TN - and that is where the white water rafting took place in the 96 olympics the road is all twists and turns with river on one side and mountains on the other. The first few times we went that way I was a nervous wreck.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325755)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Jul 17
Some of these roads cut hours off the trip, don't they? It becomes hard to do without them.
@1creekgirl (40515)
• United States
8 Jul 17
Those do look scary. When our kids were little and we drove through the mountains in Tennessee, we'd see a sign saying, "watch for falling rock." My husband told the kids this fanciful story about the legend of the American Indian Falling Rock and how people are still watching for him.
2 people like this
With such a big vehicle we can't just pull up anywhere
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
9 Jul 17
Maybe they're not designed to catch the boulders per se, but to instead deflect them and re-direct them over the road and off the cliff to the right of the photo. That would be my guess, based on how the nets are angled.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
13 Jul 17
@JudyEv Although I would rather have those large boulders sitting in those nets than sitting on top of my vehicle! haha
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325755)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Jul 17
@moffittjc They would have squashed our poor old van.
1 person likes this
@blitzfrick (2890)
• United States
8 Jul 17
Very scary! What an adventure you are on. Are you finding any Roman ruins along the way?
2 people like this
@shivamani10 (11038)
• Hyderabad, India
8 Jul 17
I think you are in a very difficult and dangerous route. Is it really safe?
2 people like this
@JudyEv (325755)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Jul 17
I'm sure it's pretty safe or there wouldn't be so many people using the road. Perhaps from time to time there might be a small rock fall but we are not really worried.
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
8 Jul 17
Those nets do not inspire confidence!
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (169940)
• United States
9 Jul 17
I never saw nets on the side of mountains meant to catch falling rocks. That is really pretty interesting.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325755)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Jul 17
We sometimes see netting in Australia but it's held in place against the sides of the mountain.
@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
8 Jul 17
They are a good idea... we have them here in spain too...
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43421)
• Denver, Colorado
8 Jul 17
You see those nets all the time during the Tour. Like you said, they probably won't stop a large boulder, but they are better than nothing.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43421)
• Denver, Colorado
8 Jul 17
@JudyEv - Probably. We even have a few nets in the mountains here in Colorado.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325755)
• Rockingham, Australia
9 Jul 17
We are not used to mountains so we've been fascinated with the scenery.
