What are the odds of a bridge collapsing from a ship collision?
Designing bridges to withstand massive maritime impacts is a complex feat of probability. This video explores the mathematical approach engineers use to calculate and mitigate the risks of ship strikes.
Engineers must account for the rare but catastrophic event of a vessel striking a bridge pier. To manage this risk, they calculate the annual probability of a collapse. Interestingly, this risk level is often compared to the specific difficulty of rolling a Yahtzee on a single throw—specifically, rolling a Yahtzee of a particular number on the first attempt.
Source: How Bridge Engineers Design Against Ship Collisions
