Low bridges and preventative barriers

[Spare tyre]

My folks live near a bridge that about 4 times a year gets hit by a hgv which sometimes then means it topples over onto it side and or the railway above gets shut

Why are there not barriers just before with guides hanging down as a warning and then an actual barrier just before the bridge, sure it would cause some delays with reversing trucks, but considerably less that having to wait for the train bridge engineers to inspect the damage

[Gaspowered]

Romsey?

[Spare tyre]

Yes, they do have warning lights, but often they are faulty, always on etc

There is a route that is possible to take and not go through the warning (or there was at one point)

[Actual]

The railway bridge at the A41 near Bicester has overhead optical sensors on approach from both sides but there have still been bridge strikes. I have seen high vehicles go under very very cautiously if they are near the height limit. Some HGV go so fast in the 50mph section that I doubt they could react and stop in time.

As far as I can see the railway bridge at the A41 near Aylesbury does not have any protection.

[GliderRider]

The French have, or had, a low bridge not far south of one of the ferry ports. It had a gantry some way ahead of it with chains hanging down to give the drive of an overheight vehicle a very audible warning.

One bridge on the A325 at Wrecclesham, near Farnham, has the problem that the alternative route is immediately before the bridge so there is no room to fit anything similar. They have put flashing lights on the main route, painted the bridge gloss yellow and fitted a large steel tube across the road before the bridge. The tube will definitely get hit again though.

[Richard-390a0]

Signs & big stripey stick either end, what more do you need other than a stricter I.Q test to be a trucker perhaps!?!

[Spare tyre]

Richard-390a0 said:

Signs & big stripey stick either end, what more do you need other than a stricter I.Q test to be a trucker perhaps!?!

A physical barrier 100ft before the bridge would prevent the railway bridge getting struck. I appreciate people make mistakes, I did it in a multi-storey last week in my van when I was tired

[Jader1973]

There is one in Melbourne that has had audible and visual warnings for several years. It still gets hit regularly.

It even has a website
http://howmanydayssincemontaguestreetbridgehasbeen...

[Mammasaid]

Jader1973 said:

There is one in Melbourne that has had audible and visual warnings for several years. It still gets hit regularly.

It even has a website
http://howmanydayssincemontaguestreetbridgehasbeen...

And not forgetting the 11ft 8in bridge in the States

https://11foot8.com/

[Smint]

A619 between Worksop and Barlboro' there's a superb early warning, a gantry well before the bridge itself either side with multiple heavy chains hanging down, simple cheap and effective, don't suppose they stop the most determined fools though, nothing will if the driver is uninterested and/or thick enough.
edit, now as i recall (haven't been through for decades) doesn't the northbound Blackwall Tunnel approach have hanging chains?

Lights have too many false alarms (they have warning lights in my town, they've never worked reliably) and a solid barrier before the bridge causes as much vehicle damage and resulting debris as the bridge itself would.

Part of the problem is trucks now drive themselves too much, with companies encouraging their drivers to let the vehicle do the driving which results in driver zoned out.

Edited by Smint on Tuesday 24th September 13:30

[Spare tyre]

Smint said:

Lights have too many false alarms (they have warning lights in my town, they've never worked reliably) and a solid barrier before the bridge causes as much vehicle damage and resulting debris as the bridge itself would.

Edited by Smint on Tuesday 24th September 13:30

Yup, however a smashed up truck on a preventive barrier doesn’t potentially shut the railway line for a day or so.

If the truck and debris are the same, having it at a planned sacrificial spot would benefit everyone

[Smint]

Spare tyre said:

Yup, however a smashed up truck on a preventive barrier doesn’t potentially shut the railway line for a day or so.

If the truck and debris are the same, having it at a planned sacrificial spot would benefit everyone

Fair point, what i can't fathom is when bridge inspection costs and train delay penalties can run into 6 figure sums, with some truck operators featuring more than once, how the hell are they staying in business.

Presumably insurance is covering these acts of negligence or total incompetence, there is a case for HGV/PSV driver's vocational insurance records being linked to their licences so future employers know what they are getting, most drivers who hit bridges get sacked but nothing to prevent the same driver getting another job or multiple jobs if agency leaving a trail of destruction in their wake and future employers being none the wiser doomsday man has just applied.

[GeniusOfLove]

Great timing, some thicko smashed his lorry into the Brynglas tunnels near Newport this morning and closed the only two motorway lanes (at 50MPH) serving the entire South Wales region.

This really needs to be a mandatory 6 month+ driving ban and huge fine, if not revocation of your HGV license. Cry me a river if you lose your job, you've no business driving a lorry if you're that stupid and inattentive.

[Spare tyre]

GeniusOfLove said:

Great timing, some thicko smashed his lorry into the Brynglas tunnels near Newport this morning and closed the only two motorway lanes (at 50MPH) serving the entire South Wales region.

This really needs to be a mandatory 6 month+ driving ban and huge fine, if not revocation of your HGV license. Cry me a river if you lose your job, you've no business driving a lorry if you're that stupid and inattentive.

Another that could be avoided with a sacrificial plastic / wooden barrier, must be something we are not grasping

[skyebear]

Mammasaid said:

And not forgetting the 11ft 8in bridge in the States

https://11foot8.com/

I think they raised the height of that bridge so even bigger trucks could hit it.

[shirt]

[mac96]

shirt said:

I'm surprised that the sign is still there!

[Glenn63]

GeniusOfLove said:

Great timing, some thicko smashed his lorry into the Brynglas tunnels near Newport this morning and closed the only two motorway lanes (at 50MPH) serving the entire South Wales region.

This really needs to be a mandatory 6 month+ driving ban and huge fine, if not revocation of your HGV license. Cry me a river if you lose your job, you've no business driving a lorry if you're that stupid and inattentive.

On the M4? They won’t be a low height, assuming the trucks been loaded to high or possibly driving with the trailer/ unit air suspension raised due to a fault.

[Spare tyre]

Glenn63 said:

GeniusOfLove said:

Great timing, some thicko smashed his lorry into the Brynglas tunnels near Newport this morning and closed the only two motorway lanes (at 50MPH) serving the entire South Wales region.

This really needs to be a mandatory 6 month+ driving ban and huge fine, if not revocation of your HGV license. Cry me a river if you lose your job, you've no business driving a lorry if you're that stupid and inattentive.

On the M4? They won’t be a low height, assuming the trucks been loaded to high or possibly driving with the trailer/ unit air suspension raised due to a fault.

Didn’t think of the fact the m4 doesn’t have low bridges

I have see scrap metal Lorrie’s with bits sticking up which have presumably moved

You also see areas of motorway bridges where stuff has whacked it and taken chunks out

[Glenn63]

Spare tyre said:

Glenn63 said:

GeniusOfLove said:

Great timing, some thicko smashed his lorry into the Brynglas tunnels near Newport this morning and closed the only two motorway lanes (at 50MPH) serving the entire South Wales region.

This really needs to be a mandatory 6 month+ driving ban and huge fine, if not revocation of your HGV license. Cry me a river if you lose your job, you've no business driving a lorry if you're that stupid and inattentive.

On the M4? They won’t be a low height, assuming the trucks been loaded to high or possibly driving with the trailer/ unit air suspension raised due to a fault.

Didn’t think of the fact the m4 doesn’t have low bridges

I have see scrap metal Lorrie’s with bits sticking up which have presumably moved

You also see areas of motorway bridges where stuff has whacked it and taken chunks out

Motorway bridges are minimum 16ft 6” I believe, most common would be a double deck trailer (usually 16ft 2) has had the rear raised up to match the dock it’s been loaded/tipped on and the drivers not realised/reset and drove off. They should reset themselves over a set MPH but could be faulty.