Keith’s note: From a retired NASA employee and long-time NASAWatch reader:
“Keith, the attached photo was just too instructive to pass up. Let me explain. This is at the Gilruth Center at JSC.
I believe that it visually shows the risk averse nature of NASA and says something about space politics. I.e., one stop sign wasn’t enough. A second one is safer. And then a sign explaining what a stop sign means. Man are we safely redundant.
I am a retired NASA engineer and could not pass up the hilarious sight.
Enjoy.”
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Biologist, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Biologist and Payload integrator, Editor of NASAWatch.com and Astrobiology.com, Lapsed climber, Explorer, Synaesthete, Former Challenger Center board member...

12 replies on “NASA JSC Certainly Got All Of The Safety Memos”

  1. This sign says less about how overboard NASA is with safety and speaks more to just how distracted and terrible people are at driving these days…

  2. Generally, I have a problem with pedestrian crossings stopping traffic at the drop of a hat, just because one person presses the button to cross to street. It is like that at KSC. I say, the pedestrian can wait just as easily for the cars to pass. In fact, it takes a fraction of a second and minimal effort on my part to stop my walking until the car passes. Then, I can easily cross the street without stopping traffic. It takes energy to stop a 3000 lb car and then for it to start moving again. I agree with the JSC person who posted it. NASA is overly risk averse. I call it the “Risk Matrix Curse”

    1. It’s something that bugs the hell out of me as well.

      On the other hand, if nobody is watching, we could just run over those pesky pedestrians. And I know, I know, all sorts of things stick to the bumper and windshield.

    2. Well, that’s your opinion. As a pedestrian, I find the behavior of drivers appalling. If you are still in the intersection when my signal changes to “walk” you are running a red light, committing a crime and endangering people’s lives for your personal convenience. I also do not hold with your momentum based idea of right of way.

      But to get this digression back to something aerospace related, I’ll mention one pedestrian’s view about flying cars. Given the skills and attentiveness of the typical ground car driver, I find the idea of flying cars horrifying. Do we really want to have people who can’t drive safely in two dimensions flying around in three dimensions and over our heads?

      1. Perhaps my “opinion” will keep me alive longer, because I do not trust cars or their drivers. =) Not on a bicycle, not walking on my feet.
        Flying cars are another fad I’m not with. We already have flying cars!!! They are called helicopters. Do people think we will be able to drive flying cars, willy-nilly, in 3 dimensions? The air traffic control system would be quickly overwhelmed with flying cars. Last point, flying cars would be incredibly loud, making a huge leap in sound contamination. You may count me out of that.

      2. One more thing to argue about….=)
        you say you “do not hold my momentum based idea of right of way…” I hope you are not a sailor because when I am sailing, I yield to large motorboats even though I am not required to. Because, if we collide, I have much more to lose than they do.

    3. I agree completely. It’s up to the pedestrian to look both ways before crossing the street, but pedestrians here at KSC just step out into the road, no matter what the traffic conditions are.

  4. Or… it was just three different divisions who did not coordinate their work and needed to get their inputs in one way or another.

  5. One hopes there is a “stop ahead” sign or two leading up to this crosswalk so the stop signs don’t just seem to appear out of nowhere

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