Low bridges

[Tesla]

Where I live there are many bridges too low for trucks to pass under. The bridge pictured below was struck 20 times in 2014. I know accidents happen, but with this particular bridge there are many warning signs, flashing lights and a "height feeler" that

sounds off a loud warning when activated. And yes...there are places for them to turn instead of risking any damage.

[72 Charger]

Here in England there are many low bridges and that seen is a regular occurrence in my home town . One high speed rail bridge has been hit well over 30 times in the last 5 years that I know of . Fortunately nobody has been injured . But it has come close a few times where some wooden pallets have been pushed off the rear of the trailer and landed on a car following the truck. The road agency keeps trying different signs flashing lights height bars before the bridge but it still happens. I think it is just drivers trying to rush to get to the drop off and not paying enough attention to the road signs . There have been a few double decker buses as well that have had the upper deck completely removed injuring passengers .  

[Tesla]

Here in England there are many low bridges and that seen is a regular occurrence in my home town . One high speed rail bridge has been hit well over 30 times in the last 5 years that I know of . Fortunately nobody has been injured . But it has come close a few times where some wooden pallets have been pushed off the rear of the trailer and landed on a car following the truck. The road agency keeps trying different signs flashing lights height bars before the bridge but it still happens. I think it is just drivers trying to rush to get to the drop off and not paying enough attention to the road signs . There have been a few double decker buses as well that have had the upper deck completely removed injuring passengers .  

I can only imagine how the passengers felt...that's terrible!

[MeatMan]

I've never understood that.  If the clearance is correct on the sign, then why do the drivers go under a bridge that is lower than their total height?  If the signs aren't right, why aren't they fixed?  My pops transported new Fords from Lorain for decades and never chopped one on a bridge.

[Jim B]

Dennis, I don't know where that particular bridge is in Massachusetts, but I know the railroad bridge over Route 30 in Westborough, MA, has been hit several times.

Here in Syracuse, NY, we had a double-deck Megabus hit a railroad bridge (do you see a theme here? ) that crosses Onongaga Lake Parkway.  Because it's a parkway, he wasn't supposed to be on it anyway.  Commercial vehicles are prohibited from parkways in New York.  Five people were killed.

[Tesla]

Dennis, I don't know where that particular bridge is in Massachusetts, but I know the railroad bridge over Route 30 in Westborough, MA, has been hit several times.

Here in Syracuse, NY, we had a double-deck Megabus hit a railroad bridge (do you see a theme here? ) that crosses Onongaga Lake Parkway.  Because it's a parkway, he wasn't supposed to be on it anyway.  Commercial vehicles are prohibited from parkways in New York.  Five people were killed.

This bridge is on Cambridge St. in Worcester. I am familiar with that bridge in Westboro. Sometimes, you really have to wonder...

[tonye66]

There is a bridge on the west side of Ohare airport that had been under construction that is on a major truck route. There were some 150 signs put up to let trucks know that the clearance was reduced and to follow a detour. Within 2 days they had to close the road to all traffic because they had about 50 truck accidents....

[RAT-T]

This bridge is on Cambridge St. in Worcester. I am familiar with that bridge in Westboro. Sometimes, you really have to wonder...

OK, I KNOW THAT BRIDGE, THAT ONE & THE ONE IN WESTBOROUGH ALSO FLOODS ALMOST EVERY YEAR.

THE AQUEDUCT BRIDGE IN NORTHBOROUGH HAS ALSO BEEN HIT QUITE A FEW TIMES

Edited December 22, 2015 by RAT-T

[KJ790]

Dennis, I don't know where that particular bridge is in Massachusetts, but I know the railroad bridge over Route 30 in Westborough, MA, has been hit several times.

Here in Syracuse, NY, we had a double-deck Megabus hit a railroad bridge (do you see a theme here? ) that crosses Onongaga Lake Parkway.  Because it's a parkway, he wasn't supposed to be on it anyway.  Commercial vehicles are prohibited from parkways in New York.  Five people were killed.

I drive under he Onondaga Parkway bridge every day on my way to work. One day this summer someone was trying to head down that road with a camper that was too tall, and it tripped the height sensor. There are normally a ton of signs and flashing lights, but when the height sensor gets tripped a few miles before the bridge, extra lights and signs start flashing saying "Stop! Over height vehicle has been recognized!" There are even extra lights that light up and flash on the bridge itself. I don't know how anyone could drive past all of those and hit that bridge, but it still happens about once a year now.

[Tesla]

OK, I KNOW THAT BRIDGE, THAT ONE & THE ONE IN WESTBOROUGH ALSO FLOODS ALMOST EVERY YEAR.

THE AQUEDUCT BRIDGE IN NORTHBOROUGH HAS ALSO BEEN HIT QUITE A FEW TIMES

It's been awhile since I've driven under the aqueduct bridge....here's a pic with the height warning signs:

[Aaronw]

I've never understood that.  If the clearance is correct on the sign, then why do the drivers go under a bridge that is lower than their total height?  If the signs aren't right, why aren't they fixed?  My pops transported new Fords from Lorain for decades and never chopped one on a bridge.

If they have all the warnings mentioned I can't imagine how they still do it unless the driver is impaired. I've never seen such a system of warning lights, most low undercrossings simply having a height sign.

The box truck in the photo is likely under 26,000lbs meaning anybody with a standard license can drive it. I imagine many of these accidents are campers / RVs and people renting a large truck without experience driving a large truck (so not used to worrying about how tall they are). Not to say this doesn't happen to professional drivers as well, there are numerous photos of semis stuck under a bridge. Just on the whole I would imagine the vast majority happen to inexperienced casual large vehicle drivers.

 

On a second look it appears the truck in question is a semi, not a box truck which ups the ??????

Edited December 22, 2015 by Aaronw

[Tesla]

If they have all the warnings mentioned I can't imagine how they still do it unless the driver is impaired. I've never seen such a system of warning lights, most low undercrossings simply having a height sign.

The box truck in the photo is likely under 26,000lbs meaning anybody with a standard license can drive it. I imagine many of these accidents are campers / RVs and people renting a large truck without experience driving a large truck (so not used to worrying about how tall they are). Not to say this doesn't happen to professional drivers as well, there are numerous photos of semis stuck under a bridge. Just on the whole I would imagine the vast majority happen to inexperienced casual large vehicle drivers.

 

On a second look it appears the truck in question is a semi, not a box truck which ups the ??????

The truck you see in the picture is a semi. Even with the signs, flashing lights and audible warning when the height sensor is activated, this bridge was hit 20 times in 2014 alone! Unbelievable.

[DRIPTROIT 71]

Here in North Carolina before they reconstructed I-85 through Salisbury, someone hit one of the bridges with a piece of construction equipment being hauled on a drop deck trailer. The road had been repaved so many times which raised the road, that the clearance signs were no longer accurate, shifting the liability from the driver to the state.

[Jim B]

This bridge is on Cambridge St. in Worcester. I am familiar with that bridge in Westboro. Sometimes, you really have to wonder...

I thought it looked familiar.

[KJ790]

I drive under he Onondaga Parkway bridge every day on my way to work. One day this summer someone was trying to head down that road with a camper that was too tall, and it tripped the height sensor. There are normally a ton of signs and flashing lights, but when the height sensor gets tripped a few miles before the bridge, extra lights and signs start flashing saying "Stop! Over height vehicle has been recognized!" There are even extra lights that light up and flash on the bridge itself. I don't know how anyone could drive past all of those and hit that bridge, but it still happens about once a year now.

I just drove under the Onondaga Parkway bridge and counted the signs. There are 10 signs in the 1.5 miles leading up to it, 8 of which have strobe lights to get attention. Then the bottom edge of the bridge is covered in a 2ft tall orange reflective material spanning the whole length of it, which another sign on the bridge itself. I don't know how, but people still manage to hit it!

Edited December 22, 2015 by KJ790

[Atmobil]

This is a very familar sight, here in Norway it seems that a lot of the tims this happens it is with a driver that is unfamilar with the place (very often from another contry) and are rellying on their GPS to get them to their destination. How they can manage to not see all the signs are difficult to understand. Here is a link to a newspaper article on one of the incidents and the bridge in this one has been hit many times.

http://www.adressa.no/nyheter/trondheim/article10665568.ece

[rctruk]

Here's one that I came across one day. The only warning is that the bridge is one lane....no weight limit signs or clearance warnings until you are at the bridge . I was 13 tall and grossing 76000

Turns out that is a sturdy old bridge that is 12' 3" wide

[redneckrigger]

Check out http://11foot8.com/. This bridge in Durham, NC has it's own website..................absolutely incredible!

[Atmobil]

Looks like a lot of the trucks are rentals.

[Tesla]

Check out http://11foot8.com/. This bridge in Durham, NC has it's own website..................absolutely incredible!

Thanks for the link!

[redneckrigger]

Thanks for the link!

Kinda sad actually.....................that there are that MANY trucks and larger vehicles out there that are being driven around by totally clueless buffoons!

[DRIPTROIT 71]

Thanks for the link. Enterprise Truck Rental has given some body shop some steady business.

[Force]

I can understand if rental trucks get stuck under low bridges as they often are driven by people who doesn't know or understand how high they are, but professional truck drivers should know what bridges or overpasses they can go under.
Here in Sweden this kind of thing happens quite frequently and the drivers are often charged for reckless driving if the Police come to the site and he can get his drivers license suspended, as I said, the driver is professional and should know better.

Edited December 24, 2015 by Force

[highway]

I've never understood that.  If the clearance is correct on the sign, then why do the drivers go under a bridge that is lower than their total height?  If the signs aren't right, why aren't they fixed?  My pops transported new Fords from Lorain for decades and never chopped one on a bridge.

If they have all the warnings mentioned I can't imagine how they still do it unless the driver is impaired. I've never seen such a system of warning lights, most low undercrossings simply having a height sign.

The box truck in the photo is likely under 26,000lbs meaning anybody with a standard license can drive it. I imagine many of these accidents are campers / RVs and people renting a large truck without experience driving a large truck (so not used to worrying about how tall they are). Not to say this doesn't happen to professional drivers as well, there are numerous photos of semis stuck under a bridge. Just on the whole I would imagine the vast majority happen to inexperienced casual large vehicle drivers.

 

On a second look it appears the truck in question is a semi, not a box truck which ups the ??????

One simple reason, and it isn't impairment in the common sense, but being impaired with NO COMMON SENSE!!  The number one reason for topping a trailer is GPS and rookie drivers relying SOLELY on the GPS and most often a car GPS, not a truck specific system, to get to their destination. The truck specific systems are not foolproof either, but they should route around restrictions and low clearances, but still nothing beats the Motor Carriers atlas that includes restricted routes and low clearance locations and a phone call to the shipping and receiving department for accurate directions to the pick up or drop off. The biggest excuse is usually "The GPS told me to go this way". 

There have been a few times in my career that I have either been on a detour or new route that checked out in the atlas that have had unmarked bridged that scared me, but thankfully (KNOCKING ON WOOD) I have never topped a trailer, because if it looks iffy and not marked, I ease up to the bridge and check before going under. Yeah, I probably have made quite a few impatient people mad, but better than destroying the trailer. One detour in Pittsburgh for I-376 (can't wait for that mess to be completely done! ) that was a truck specific detour claimed a trailer about a month ago where I work, and all I can figure it was caused by driver inattention/inexperience. The bridge, from the stories going around the yard, was an arched bridge like the 10' marked in one of the previous pics (which the middle is probably high enough to get through) and the driver caught the top right corner of the trailer. There was one like that on the truck detour, and was not marked but did look like if too far over to the right could grab the trailer, but not from the travel lane. Was the other driver that didn't make it under the same bridge I did driving on the shoulder instead of the travel lane?? Still trying to figure that one out! Funniest thing, and this is just trucker talk around the yard, but this driver then dropped the trailer he just topped with the bridge right there with freight still on it and came back for another load!! 

[MeatMan]

Copy that Mathew. The drivers at my job use a commercial GPS, and they check their route prior to leaving!