Storrow drive

PHOTOS: ‘Storrowing' crashes have their own names, from ‘Tin Foil' and beyond

"It's truly a Boston thing"

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It's "Storrowing" Season in Boston, and we're covering it from all angles. Read more here:

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If you've lived in Boston long enough, you've heard of the bridge strikes infamously known as "Storrowings."

Named after Storrow Drive, where many of the height-challenged bridges and footbridges reside, the name also extends to other roadways along the Charles River, like Soldiers Field Road in Boston and Memorial Drive in Cambridge. The busy arteries are adjacent to many of the area’s colleges and universities.

Photojournalist Mark Garfinkel has covered "Storrowings" in Boston for over 30 years, first with the Boston Herald and now with NBC10 Boston, and he says he's seen "a big uptick" in the number of bridge strikes he’s documented this year.

“I mean, I don't remember this many,” he said.

The good news, he says, is most of the drivers involved in these bridge collisions usually walk away unharmed. The bad news is the chain reaction of every incident: a traffic nightmare for drivers in the area.

An array of "Storrowed" trucks
NBC10 Boston
An array of "Storrowed" trucks

Garfinkel said his pictures of “Storrowed” trucks are popular on social media. And on there, many of the different damaged trucks are getting nicknames.

There's the 'Proper Storrowing' which is just a regular wedge. There's the ‘Tin Can’, which is the crunch from above,” Garfinkel said.

He also described the "Tin Foil," where the top of the truck is peeled off and hanging, like tin foil, off the back.

It's truly a Boston thing,” Garfinkel said.

PHOTOS: Years of ‘storrowings' in Boston

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