Truck Backs Into What Looks Like a Mini Auburn Walmart Pole

The infamous pole in the parking lot of the Auburn Walmart should be designated as a Maine State Landmark based on all the attention it's gotten in recent years as drivers continuously find a way to collide with it. It certainly came to mind when I was walking down the street in Portland and came across a truck that had pulled a similar maneuver with far less damage.

The Auburn Walmart pole inflicts some serious damage on cars with drivers who are not paying attention and take a turn right into the pole.

The more you try to make the pole visible...

The more they keep running into it...

I saw the truck/pole collision in a parking lot on Free Street, between Brown and Center Street in Portland, right across from the Cross Insurance Arena. It's one of the many lots operated by UPP Global also known as Unified Parking Partners.

Now I didn't see it happen, but I didn't need to. I'm not even sure if the person driving the truck even knew that they hit it.

UPP has set up this small pole that kind of looks like PVC pipe with reflective tape on it to indicate where the "wall" to the parking area is and to prevent people from entering or exiting here.

The poles are bolted into the pavement and are on a hinge, so they do little to no damage, but I still couldn't help but laugh at this to myself. Based on the condition of the truck's bumper, it seems like the driver may have hit a much bigger pole at one point, so that could explain things.

I'm sure the pole was hard to see since it's only the height of the bumper, but did they notice it when they got out of the truck? If only the Auburn Walmart could find poles that did this same thing, but I guess the bigger a pole on a hinge is, the harder it will slap back.