Why do trucks/lorries hit bridges?
June 11, 2024 8:24 PM Subscribe
Thanks Cassowaries, that was surprisingly informative!
posted by faceplantingcheetah at 9:07 PM on June 11 [2 favorites]
posted by faceplantingcheetah at 9:07 PM on June 11 [2 favorites]
I drive trucks incidentally, in that my job is not Truck Driver, but some days I'm the truck driver. Never hit a bridge, though I once realised after the event I cleared one by 100mm. It was an interesting feeling when I worked that one out.
At least here everything is in the same units but god I'd be all over affordable truck GPS.
And yeah, go easy on truckies, it's not easy work, yet nor is it well paid.
posted by deadwax at 9:26 PM on June 11 [5 favorites]
At least here everything is in the same units but god I'd be all over affordable truck GPS.
And yeah, go easy on truckies, it's not easy work, yet nor is it well paid.
posted by deadwax at 9:26 PM on June 11 [5 favorites]
Because they're there.
If not for the trucks, then who?!
posted by Literaryhero at 9:30 PM on June 11 [1 favorite]
If not for the trucks, then who?!
posted by Literaryhero at 9:30 PM on June 11 [1 favorite]
We've been having a spate of bridge/overpass strikes in our area in the past few years. Most overpasses were built before we went metric and have clearances of 15 feet or 4.56 metres. Regulations require a permit for any load over 4.15m which allows for a 41cm clearance. And yet collisions keep happening over and over again. Fingers point in all directions, fines are issued, even the odd business licence suspension but no clear solution is at hand.
posted by Zedcaster at 9:47 PM on June 11
posted by Zedcaster at 9:47 PM on June 11
I do not envy the bridge strikers. Watching the likes of 11'8 and such on youtube, though, the ones that kill me are where it's not even close: the truck is sometimes more than a foot over-height. And then there are the giant dump trucks running around with the box way up in the air.
Rental box trucks I totally get striking bridges. Those are driven by people who don't drive trucks, who probably don't want to be driving that truck on that day, and are also most likely tired or distracted or both. And believe the rental counter person when they tell you "you can't get through the arboretum in this truck" or whatever they warn you about.
posted by maxwelton at 9:49 PM on June 11
Rental box trucks I totally get striking bridges. Those are driven by people who don't drive trucks, who probably don't want to be driving that truck on that day, and are also most likely tired or distracted or both. And believe the rental counter person when they tell you "you can't get through the arboretum in this truck" or whatever they warn you about.
posted by maxwelton at 9:49 PM on June 11
the truck is sometimes more than a foot over-height
Yeah but you can't tell from the cab. There's no proprioception of that box behind you and you can't see the top of it without getting out of the vehicle. It's not like a car or a van where you are looking up at the same roof you look down on - the disconnection is fairly complete and what's at your eyeline is irrelevant.
posted by deadwax at 9:58 PM on June 11 [5 favorites]
Yeah but you can't tell from the cab. There's no proprioception of that box behind you and you can't see the top of it without getting out of the vehicle. It's not like a car or a van where you are looking up at the same roof you look down on - the disconnection is fairly complete and what's at your eyeline is irrelevant.
posted by deadwax at 9:58 PM on June 11 [5 favorites]
I drive a bus. I have an advantage over truckers in that my height is not as variable (bigger buses are taller, emptier buses are taller, but I know that the height posted in the cab is accurate). I have another in that I drive in a limited area, I’m familiar with the heights of every bridge and powerline. But I would be lying if told you there aren’t some close overheads that pucker me up a little. What I worry about more, however, is narrow lanes and ever larger vehicles driven by amateurs. This bridge is a daily crossing for me in a full sized coach, and I’ve definitely had people get waaayy too close.
posted by skookumsaurus rex at 9:58 PM on June 11 [13 favorites]
posted by skookumsaurus rex at 9:58 PM on June 11 [13 favorites]
In Boston, this is called a "storrowing" due to the frequency that it happens on Storrow Drive. Trucks (particularly moving trucks) get their tops peeled off like a tin can going under some of the low, but extremely well-signed, bridges. It is such a well-known phenomenon that a local brewery, Trillium, had a beer called "Storrowed".
Last month, three trucks were storrowed on the same day.
Including one Trillium beer delivery truck.
posted by justkevin at 10:21 PM on June 11 [48 favorites]
Last month, three trucks were storrowed on the same day.
Including one Trillium beer delivery truck.
posted by justkevin at 10:21 PM on June 11 [48 favorites]
A bridge near my house was so notorious for eating trucks that it had its own Facebook and Twitter accounts.
It's been demolished and replaced with a significantly higher bridge now.
The new, much higher, bridge ate a truck within less than 7 days.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 10:31 PM on June 11 [24 favorites]
It's been demolished and replaced with a significantly higher bridge now.
The new, much higher, bridge ate a truck within less than 7 days.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 10:31 PM on June 11 [24 favorites]
I really love these kinds of vernacular explanations from people who actually do the thing, written in their own way based on their hard-won experience. More of this!
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 10:54 PM on June 11 [14 favorites]
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 10:54 PM on June 11 [14 favorites]
And yeah, go easy on truckies, it's not easy work, yet nor is it well paid.
It's comparatively well paid in the UK, for blue collar work! Certainly pays significantly better than all kinds of adjacent jobs, like warehouse, yard/traffic coordinator, or retail.
posted by Dysk at 11:34 PM on June 11 [2 favorites]
It's comparatively well paid in the UK, for blue collar work! Certainly pays significantly better than all kinds of adjacent jobs, like warehouse, yard/traffic coordinator, or retail.
posted by Dysk at 11:34 PM on June 11 [2 favorites]
I once rented a U-Haul when I moved cross country. When I went to pick up my medium-sized truck, the U-Haul guy said, sorry, but the medium trucks are all gone, but you can have the largest size truck for the same price. So I drove cross country in what was basically a semi; I had not previously nor have I since ever driven such a large vehicle.
I was going through Kansas City and came across one of these low clearance bridges. I did the calculations in my head and decided to go around, stopping at almost the last second.
posted by zardoz at 11:37 PM on June 11 [6 favorites]
I was going through Kansas City and came across one of these low clearance bridges. I did the calculations in my head and decided to go around, stopping at almost the last second.
posted by zardoz at 11:37 PM on June 11 [6 favorites]
Generally speaking, we don't go for an HGV licence because we were good at maths.
Great post.
I certainly relate with the bit about how, despite the calculation power everyone is carrying around in their pocket, few are doing these computations, because the safety system is privatized.
and it s on the working stiff to pay up. So don't expect improvement.
posted by eustatic at 12:09 AM on June 12 [4 favorites]
Great post.
I certainly relate with the bit about how, despite the calculation power everyone is carrying around in their pocket, few are doing these computations, because the safety system is privatized.
and it s on the working stiff to pay up. So don't expect improvement.
posted by eustatic at 12:09 AM on June 12 [4 favorites]
When I was "what could possibly go wrong?" 20, I drove a 7 tonne van for National Carriers in and around Cambridge, England. That was the biggest vehicle you could drive with a regular car license; and I definitely couldn't see its roof except from inside. On the first week I went out every day with one of the the other drivers: that was the training. On the 3rd week, I peeled off the offside roof corner going under a brick railway arch making a delivery to a laundry. It would have been okay if I'd had a straight run but the route required a turn immediately after the bridge.
Back at base they weren't too pissed off with me. That was an awkward place to get into and my mentor said he always parked on the main road nearby and made the last 200m of the delivery by hand-truck: it's quicker, like.
posted by BobTheScientist at 12:25 AM on June 12 [13 favorites]
Back at base they weren't too pissed off with me. That was an awkward place to get into and my mentor said he always parked on the main road nearby and made the last 200m of the delivery by hand-truck: it's quicker, like.
posted by BobTheScientist at 12:25 AM on June 12 [13 favorites]
That was a good thread. I feel like it used to be more common to have metal gates with warning chains hung at the height of low bridges a short ways before hitting the actual bridge. Maybe they weren't effective?
posted by lucidium at 1:58 AM on June 12 [3 favorites]
posted by lucidium at 1:58 AM on June 12 [3 favorites]
Looks like the Montague Street Bridge is having a good run...
posted by pompomtom at 2:31 AM on June 12
posted by pompomtom at 2:31 AM on June 12
Resurfacing heights are a big deal, here. Utilities in Britain are kind of a cowboy arena: the water company can just come along any time, close any street, and dig it up. They are meant to put it back the way they found it, but usually that just means a clumsy patch that won't last very long. The roads become a textured nightmare to cycle on until a local authority scrapes together the cash to resurface the whole thing.
Then a week later the power company digs it up again. Gas companies are terrible about this, because they're constantly leaking precious methane into our atmosphere, and need to replace the 90s-era pipes.
People in London used to share some famous forum pages where lorry drivers would share info about particular bridges. "Nah, it says 13'6" but I got my 13'9" load under it just fine!" say dozens of posts, many complete with dashcam shots. But this conversation was two years old, see, and the council recently resurfaced it and improved the camber for better drainage, you see.
And the combination of these two things is why this bridge gets a strike every two weeks, now!
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 2:42 AM on June 12 [9 favorites]
Then a week later the power company digs it up again. Gas companies are terrible about this, because they're constantly leaking precious methane into our atmosphere, and need to replace the 90s-era pipes.
People in London used to share some famous forum pages where lorry drivers would share info about particular bridges. "Nah, it says 13'6" but I got my 13'9" load under it just fine!" say dozens of posts, many complete with dashcam shots. But this conversation was two years old, see, and the council recently resurfaced it and improved the camber for better drainage, you see.
And the combination of these two things is why this bridge gets a strike every two weeks, now!
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 2:42 AM on June 12 [9 favorites]
Why do trucks/lorries hit bridges?
You want they should hit rivers? Train tracks?
posted by rhizome at 3:23 AM on June 12
You want they should hit rivers? Train tracks?
posted by rhizome at 3:23 AM on June 12
Bridge StrikeI believe “Storrowing” is the correct nomenclature
posted by pxe2000 at 3:38 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
Exactly, paging Metafilter's Own adamg to the white storrowing phone.
posted by range at 4:08 AM on June 12 [2 favorites]
posted by range at 4:08 AM on June 12 [2 favorites]
have you noticed that a lot of bridges display imperial units?
Imperialism again!
posted by HearHere at 4:13 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
Imperialism again!
posted by HearHere at 4:13 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
Notice how bridge signs are always in 3 inch increments?
The advice is give yourself a good six inches.
Most men can't be trusted with that measurement.
LOLOLOLOLOL
posted by Thorzdad at 4:29 AM on June 12 [12 favorites]
The advice is give yourself a good six inches.
Most men can't be trusted with that measurement.
LOLOLOLOLOL
posted by Thorzdad at 4:29 AM on June 12 [12 favorites]
> have you noticed that a lot of bridges display imperial units?
And, TIL, the railway bridge safety signs use chains to identify the bridge location! It's a closed system I guess, so they can do what they like, but this is the first time I have ever heard of chains being used in my lifetime for anything other than a joke.
So many stupid problems here that seem solvable, from a naïve outside perspective. "HGV Satnav" sounds wildly over priced but OTOH a tiny drop in the ocean of truck purchase/maintenance costs so it feels like it should be standard. Some sort of sensor system that knows about the load height and can see oncoming bridges feels like it should be similarly within sensible budgets. And there could surely be an app to allow the distracting mobile phone to help with at least some aspects of the arithmetic, reminders etc. But idk - I'm just glad I don't have to deal with any of this.
posted by merlynkline at 4:41 AM on June 12 [3 favorites]
And, TIL, the railway bridge safety signs use chains to identify the bridge location! It's a closed system I guess, so they can do what they like, but this is the first time I have ever heard of chains being used in my lifetime for anything other than a joke.
So many stupid problems here that seem solvable, from a naïve outside perspective. "HGV Satnav" sounds wildly over priced but OTOH a tiny drop in the ocean of truck purchase/maintenance costs so it feels like it should be standard. Some sort of sensor system that knows about the load height and can see oncoming bridges feels like it should be similarly within sensible budgets. And there could surely be an app to allow the distracting mobile phone to help with at least some aspects of the arithmetic, reminders etc. But idk - I'm just glad I don't have to deal with any of this.
posted by merlynkline at 4:41 AM on June 12 [3 favorites]
Even with all of the (money-costing) precautions and device, there's always going to be some chancer who tries to take a low bridge. Whose employer probably wouldn't spend the money on precautions anyway.
And then there's Cook Street in Glasgow. Signposted all to heck, with double-decker buses having alarm systems supposed to stop drivers from going even close. Yet every few years, it tears the top deck off another bus. BusUK Forums readers were not impressed, but also not surprised.
posted by scruss at 5:08 AM on June 12
And then there's Cook Street in Glasgow. Signposted all to heck, with double-decker buses having alarm systems supposed to stop drivers from going even close. Yet every few years, it tears the top deck off another bus. BusUK Forums readers were not impressed, but also not surprised.
posted by scruss at 5:08 AM on June 12
→
In the BusUK Forums link above, there's a driver who notes that all buses have them, but they go off based on proximity. The roads around Cook St are major bus routes, and the alarm can go off apparently even when you're on a safe road.
posted by scruss at 5:14 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
"HGV Satnav" … feels like it should be standard
In the BusUK Forums link above, there's a driver who notes that all buses have them, but they go off based on proximity. The roads around Cook St are major bus routes, and the alarm can go off apparently even when you're on a safe road.
posted by scruss at 5:14 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
80 chains to a mile? Is this some railway-specific unit? I am fascinated, I learned a new unit!
posted by Vatnesine at 5:16 AM on June 12
posted by Vatnesine at 5:16 AM on June 12
In Seattle, before they tore down the viaduct, over height vehicles would get stuck all the time. It was especially tricksy because where you got notified of the height restriction, northbound, was 2 miles before the low overhang. When you see the sign, you are in a wide open industrial zone with nothing overhead as far as you can see. But by the time you saw the tunnel ahead, it was too late, because the last exit before the tunnel had an even lower height limit than the tunnel itself.
posted by funkaspuck at 5:17 AM on June 12 [2 favorites]
posted by funkaspuck at 5:17 AM on June 12 [2 favorites]
80 chains to a mile? Is this some railway-specific unit? I am fascinated, I learned a new unit!
One chain to a cricket pitch, should you want to get particularly British.
My father in law surveyed using chains at the start of his construction career and he's only just hit 70, it's not that long ago.
posted by deadwax at 5:29 AM on June 12 [2 favorites]
One chain to a cricket pitch, should you want to get particularly British.
My father in law surveyed using chains at the start of his construction career and he's only just hit 70, it's not that long ago.
posted by deadwax at 5:29 AM on June 12 [2 favorites]
> Even with all of the (money-costing) precautions and device, there's always going to be some chancer
Well yes. But, to fall into corporate speak for a moment, we shouldn't let the perfect be the enemy of the good - we could get 80% of the benefit for 20% of the cost, and that would be worth having
posted by merlynkline at 5:33 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
Well yes. But, to fall into corporate speak for a moment, we shouldn't let the perfect be the enemy of the good - we could get 80% of the benefit for 20% of the cost, and that would be worth having
posted by merlynkline at 5:33 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
National Rail went fully metric years ago. It's only the motorists who still use Imperial for anything, any more.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 5:34 AM on June 12
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 5:34 AM on June 12
Ahem?: It's only the motorists who still use Imperial for anything, any more..
Anything? How tall are you? And I don't think that it's just Imperial babies who are weighed in lbs & ozs.
BobTheFurlong
posted by BobTheScientist at 5:57 AM on June 12 [2 favorites]
Anything? How tall are you? And I don't think that it's just Imperial babies who are weighed in lbs & ozs.
BobTheFurlong
posted by BobTheScientist at 5:57 AM on June 12 [2 favorites]
Here in Philly we had a truck strike I95 while being escorted by police on an "approved route." Kind of amazing.
posted by grumpybear69 at 5:59 AM on June 12 [5 favorites]
posted by grumpybear69 at 5:59 AM on June 12 [5 favorites]
I am fascinated, I learned a new unit!
Here, have a few more!
posted by flabdablet at 5:59 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
Here, have a few more!
posted by flabdablet at 5:59 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
From the last statistics released by Network Rail, we can see that on average 5 bridges are hit every day
Rookie numbers.
posted by AlSweigart at 6:01 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
Rookie numbers.
posted by AlSweigart at 6:01 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
I was once standing on the street when a small UHaul truck attempted to drive into underground parking across the street, smashing up the top two feet of the truck and the metal shroud at the top of the garage door.
It's an easy mistake to make, probably made worse because someone like me was standing there to see it happen. Nobody likes being watched when they screw up.
Even worse: It wasn't just me watching...I was standing in line with several hundred other people, waiting to get in to a business to get an autograph, and the "OHHHhhhhhh" that came up from the crowd is something you never want to be the target of.
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:03 AM on June 12 [3 favorites]
It's an easy mistake to make, probably made worse because someone like me was standing there to see it happen. Nobody likes being watched when they screw up.
Even worse: It wasn't just me watching...I was standing in line with several hundred other people, waiting to get in to a business to get an autograph, and the "OHHHhhhhhh" that came up from the crowd is something you never want to be the target of.
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:03 AM on June 12 [3 favorites]
On the road to success, there are no shortcuts.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:27 AM on June 12 [3 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:27 AM on June 12 [3 favorites]
Nobody likes being watched when they screw up.
Being filmed is worse.
posted by flabdablet at 6:33 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
Being filmed is worse.
posted by flabdablet at 6:33 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
This is the thread where I post a video of this genius invention to help with Sydney, Australia's problem.
posted by scolbath at 6:45 AM on June 12 [2 favorites]
posted by scolbath at 6:45 AM on June 12 [2 favorites]
This page has the data for BC bridge hits since beginning of 2022, with which bridge, why (not measuring load, not following route, no permit), and how resolved. Interesting stuff. Doesn't seem nearly as difficult to avoid as those UK ones, though.
posted by lookoutbelow at 7:38 AM on June 12 [2 favorites]
posted by lookoutbelow at 7:38 AM on June 12 [2 favorites]
As the thread mentioned, backing up isn't always an answer (or could lead to different damage.) There's a house on a major road in Chicago that gets damaged CONSTANTLY. I drive past it and assumed it was people in regular cars racing up and down this particular street and losing control, as it's a know drag racing street and right near a tight curve.
But then I learned this poor house is constantly being hit by trucks that come up on an overpass they can't fit under and back up. I'll notice that the damage was fixed and literally 2-3 weeks later drive by and it's damaged again.
What would you do if trucks kept backing into your house?
posted by misskaz at 7:41 AM on June 12 [3 favorites]
But then I learned this poor house is constantly being hit by trucks that come up on an overpass they can't fit under and back up. I'll notice that the damage was fixed and literally 2-3 weeks later drive by and it's damaged again.
What would you do if trucks kept backing into your house?
posted by misskaz at 7:41 AM on June 12 [3 favorites]
Bob, my baby was born in the 2000s, and the weight was given in kg. I know my height in feet and inches because I grew up in the US, but again my kid's charts are all in metric. I don't remember what a pound feels like, but a kg is a bag of sugar.
The UK went metric in the 60s, and took half a century to finish the job. It's only the motorists who still use weird measures like miles or chains. Even shepherds stopped using weird units like "stone" to weigh livestock.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 8:27 AM on June 12
The UK went metric in the 60s, and took half a century to finish the job. It's only the motorists who still use weird measures like miles or chains. Even shepherds stopped using weird units like "stone" to weigh livestock.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 8:27 AM on June 12
Forestry on the west coast of the US was using chains recently enough that we were still taught about them a decade ago, but it was in the interest of reading old reports. All GPS now in practice, afaict, though we did do compass-and-elevation to get a feel for how you do it with geometry.
posted by clew at 9:09 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
posted by clew at 9:09 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
I was once standing on the street when a small UHaul truck attempted to drive into underground parking across the street, smashing up the top two feet of the truck and the metal shroud at the top of the garage door.
At our old apartment, we lived in the unit that was directly above the ramp to the garage. We were home when somebody tried to drive a U-Haul into the garage and instead hit the building. Somehow they didn't smash the truck up noticeably, but the BANG in our apartment was really something.
posted by fedward at 9:52 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
At our old apartment, we lived in the unit that was directly above the ramp to the garage. We were home when somebody tried to drive a U-Haul into the garage and instead hit the building. Somehow they didn't smash the truck up noticeably, but the BANG in our apartment was really something.
posted by fedward at 9:52 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
*Slaps span of the bridge*
This baby can peel so many busses.
posted by lucidium at 9:57 AM on June 12 [7 favorites]
This baby can peel so many busses.
posted by lucidium at 9:57 AM on June 12 [7 favorites]
I can't believe they just looked past Charli XCX's effect on bridge collisions. I love it.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 10:54 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 10:54 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
Maybe rental trucks should just have a kind of industrial heavy-duty aluminum top, like a can of Spam, so that this happens with the minimum of damage and fuss
posted by Countess Elena at 11:27 AM on June 12
posted by Countess Elena at 11:27 AM on June 12
I always assumed the problem with trucks hitting bridges was due to lax enforcement of the height restrictions.
Y'know, like in that story where the two folks are approaching a bridge with a 14-foot limit in their 15-foot truck and one of them says "we haven't seen a cop in 50 miles; let's take our chances."
posted by nickmark at 11:46 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
Y'know, like in that story where the two folks are approaching a bridge with a 14-foot limit in their 15-foot truck and one of them says "we haven't seen a cop in 50 miles; let's take our chances."
posted by nickmark at 11:46 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
In 1983 a group of us borrowed our bosses motor home to go from Portland to San Diego for a computer conference. We were pulling into the forecourt for a gas station where it looked like there was plenty of clearance for the motor home but we didn’t realize that the air conditioner stuck up significantly higher than the roof of the RV.
I’m glad I wasn’t driving.
posted by jvbthegolfer at 1:26 PM on June 12 [1 favorite]
I’m glad I wasn’t driving.
posted by jvbthegolfer at 1:26 PM on June 12 [1 favorite]
When I was in trucking school, we drove all over the state. Bridge/overpass heights are posted on the side so you can see them and make good choices haha. My trainer used to ask us all the time, as soon as we’d cleared the bridge, “What’s the height of that overpass?” When we didn’t know, he’d smirk, “You just crashed.”
At my first prehire, driver intake was basically a massive cattle call in the ballroom of a hotel owned by the logistics company. During the hours I spent filling out paperwork, peeing in cups, and waiting for my test drive, I had a lot of time to look at a framed poster of a Herman cartoon. In the background, a tractor trailer is wedged under an overpass. Foreground: driver talking to cop. “No, officer, there ain’t any problem here. I’m delivering a bridge!”
posted by toodleydoodley at 1:36 PM on June 12 [3 favorites]
At my first prehire, driver intake was basically a massive cattle call in the ballroom of a hotel owned by the logistics company. During the hours I spent filling out paperwork, peeing in cups, and waiting for my test drive, I had a lot of time to look at a framed poster of a Herman cartoon. In the background, a tractor trailer is wedged under an overpass. Foreground: driver talking to cop. “No, officer, there ain’t any problem here. I’m delivering a bridge!”
posted by toodleydoodley at 1:36 PM on June 12 [3 favorites]
The free map apps (eg Waze, Google Maps, Apple Maps) allow users to "avoid tolls" but have no option for vehicle height to route around overpasses.
posted by cheshyre at 4:19 PM on June 12 [2 favorites]
posted by cheshyre at 4:19 PM on June 12 [2 favorites]
Where we live, drunk/high dump truck drivers often smash into overpasses while driving along the freeway with their bed lifted up.
posted by ovvl at 6:00 PM on June 12 [1 favorite]
posted by ovvl at 6:00 PM on June 12 [1 favorite]
This is a constant problem in and around Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Many of the lower bridges are railway bridges so, whenever a vehicle hits the bridge, that part of the rail network shuts down until the bridge can be inspected. The government has been installing protection beams at many of them - a substantial steel beam before the bridge, the same height as the bridge and capable of stopping a large truck. This at least prevents the rail network disaster (a stoppage in one area quickly becomes a city-wide problem) and stops bridges from being damaged, although it doesn't do much for the truck. Previously, lighter beams, bells, chains, sensor lights and all sorts of things were tried to warn drivers of an imminent bridge strike but were largely ignored.
Despite the effort to warn drivers and extensive ad campaigns to remind people to check heights, in April this year there were nine strikes in the South-East of the state (where the bulk of the population lives), within 48 hours, with eight of those fortunately being strikes on protection beams and only one hitting the bridge itself.
Why does it happen? Mostly, I think, a combination of pure laziness from drivers not knowing their height and the typical 'she'll be right' attitude, exacerbated by a general view that height limits are marked pessimistically and you can get away with being just a little higher.
posted by dg at 11:50 PM on June 12
Despite the effort to warn drivers and extensive ad campaigns to remind people to check heights, in April this year there were nine strikes in the South-East of the state (where the bulk of the population lives), within 48 hours, with eight of those fortunately being strikes on protection beams and only one hitting the bridge itself.
Why does it happen? Mostly, I think, a combination of pure laziness from drivers not knowing their height and the typical 'she'll be right' attitude, exacerbated by a general view that height limits are marked pessimistically and you can get away with being just a little higher.
posted by dg at 11:50 PM on June 12
But also worldwide there is heavy pressure on drivers from owners (or if self-employed, just to pay the bills and win contracts) to do more hours than they should. Many drivers are exhausted, wired or both. That's not going to help with the bridge situation.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 3:26 AM on June 13 [2 favorites]
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 3:26 AM on June 13 [2 favorites]
The free map apps (eg Waze, Google Maps, Apple Maps) allow users to "avoid tolls" but have no option for vehicle height to route around overpasses.
posted by cheshyre at 4:19 PM on June 12
Google has the rail map, actually i think railmaps are public in many jurisdictions, it would seem like a straightforward thing to implement, because the data are usually available
It also seems like, as expensive as trucks can be, it would be worth it to outfit the trailer section with a lidar that could inform the driver how the suspension etc, is adjusted, if a bottleneck is that operators don't bother to measure their heights--or if civilians renting trucks don't even know how.
posted by eustatic at 7:33 AM on June 13
posted by cheshyre at 4:19 PM on June 12
Google has the rail map, actually i think railmaps are public in many jurisdictions, it would seem like a straightforward thing to implement, because the data are usually available
It also seems like, as expensive as trucks can be, it would be worth it to outfit the trailer section with a lidar that could inform the driver how the suspension etc, is adjusted, if a bottleneck is that operators don't bother to measure their heights--or if civilians renting trucks don't even know how.
posted by eustatic at 7:33 AM on June 13
it would be worth it to outfit the trailer section with a lidar
Woudn't even need to be a good lidar. A modulated laser beam, well collimated but widened enough not to burn eyeballs, mounted levelled and forward-facing on the truck's highest point, with a lens and photodetector set up to respond to the modulation pattern, should be enough. If the detector saw the modulation pattern appear at all, that would show that there's an obstacle ahead at the height of the beam. Modulation patterns would be unique per unit to avoid false triggering when trucks fitted with these things drove toward each other. Should be doable quite reliably with about as much electronics as a shit-grade garage door opener.
posted by flabdablet at 7:57 AM on June 13
Woudn't even need to be a good lidar. A modulated laser beam, well collimated but widened enough not to burn eyeballs, mounted levelled and forward-facing on the truck's highest point, with a lens and photodetector set up to respond to the modulation pattern, should be enough. If the detector saw the modulation pattern appear at all, that would show that there's an obstacle ahead at the height of the beam. Modulation patterns would be unique per unit to avoid false triggering when trucks fitted with these things drove toward each other. Should be doable quite reliably with about as much electronics as a shit-grade garage door opener.
posted by flabdablet at 7:57 AM on June 13
Strangely, my current rail trip has been slowed due to a bridge strike. Thanks, MetaFilter!
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:21 AM on June 13 [3 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:21 AM on June 13 [3 favorites]
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Would need to survive being bounced off a few bridges, though.
We can't even get Canada to require simple "Your tipper bed is up" warning lights in cabs, even though there have been fatalities and really drunk truck drivers (taking out part of the Burlington Skyway) not noticing the bed was up.
posted by scruss at 11:40 AM on June 13 [2 favorites]
Woudn't even need to be a good lidar
Would need to survive being bounced off a few bridges, though.
We can't even get Canada to require simple "Your tipper bed is up" warning lights in cabs, even though there have been fatalities and really drunk truck drivers (taking out part of the Burlington Skyway) not noticing the bed was up.
posted by scruss at 11:40 AM on June 13 [2 favorites]
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