@ ke6gwf, dont worry, I'll duck when the overpass comes!
@ Dualie, I work out of the santa rosa yard, I do my best to avoid that Oakland yard as much as possible!
~10 years ago I was hauling for United out of Napa, and one day I had to haul a beavertail trailer load of scaffolding over to Vacaville Prison, and ended up being in the very center of the prison complex with a prisoner work gang to unload me. The one guard for 30-40 guys working in there was sitting in the job tool shack (it's still there
http://g.co/maps/8364a ) and couldn't see where I was, and there were no other guards in sight. Some of the guys were lifers they told me...
When I went in the sallyport, they made me take all the knives, cellphones, tools, fire ext's and such out and leave them at the gate, and then told me to take the chains and binders off and leave them there as well so they couldn't be used as weapons. I looked at them and told them if I did, half the scaffolding wouldn't make it to the worksite, and besides, my load consisted entirely of potential weapons, so an extra chain or rope or binder bar wasn't going to make any difference!
The cons were very polite and friendly, and seemed glad to have someone to talk to for a while that wasn't a guard or a convict, so it was a good day.
Then my next stop that day was the United Rentals yard in Oakland to load a dumptruck...
I think the security fence was better there than at the prison, and I had more fear for my life!
The wrong guys had the guns, and at least with the convicts there was an understanding of our respective positions, which doesn't exists with the nEXt-cons!
So, I don't blame you for avoiding Oakland.
Lately I have been working in and around Oakland quite a bit, including on night jobs in the street at the new KP hospital project, and I would fear for my life more, but I have had some training since ten years ago that I haven't had a chance to test out yet, so I am observant but not worried! (and maybe just a bit stupid... lol)
(I am currently working for J. A. Gonsalves out of Napa, right now mostly doing patch paving and cement work and such for people like Steiny, ARB, WBE, etc. A few Caltrans jobs and some city stuff thrown in, and we are almost busy! I am mostly driving a white 10 wheeler Mack hauling equipment on a tilt or hauling materials. We are all over from Mill Valley to San Jose to Antioch to Pleasanton to Walnut Creek to San Bruno right now, so have probably passed (or been passed, that Mack is a dog...) by both of you. We just finished filling in and paving over the San Bruno blast site last week. I should post some pictures...)
Ben~
