Parking hall of shame: Truck blocks crosswalk and travel lane

Trucks sometimes double park in travel lanes, and sometimes block crosswalks. This truck managed to get in everyone’s way: it parked in a travel lane, and blocking one of DC’s busiest crosswalks, all while curbside space sat empty right nearby.

I took these pictures on Thursday evening at 7th and H, NW around 8:15 pm, when the streets were packed with diners and the Capitals were playing their first playoff game. This truck belongs to Iron Fabrication Services, Inc. of Hanover, Maryland, which according to their Web site worked on the Union Station Bikestation.

Their truck was parked not in the curb lane, but in the rightmost travel lane. Meanwhile, the curb lane was nearly empty, with plenty of room for the truck to pull up to the curb. On top of that, it was completely blocking the crosswalk.

It could have been stalled or broken down, but about five minutes after I arrived, the driver got in the truck, sat there for a minute, then drove away.

Update: A representative of the company says that the truck was stopped because it had just been involved in a collision, and the driver was exchanging insurance information. I admit I hadn’t considered that possibility; the truck didn’t look damaged and there wasn’t another damaged vehicle nearby or any other vehicle stopped in the middle of the road that I saw, but I could have not seen it or damage could have been invisible.