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Latest bridge strike - Dover

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Cletus

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http://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/lorry-hits-bridge-133776/
A brother and sister were lucky to be away from their home when a lorry crashed into a bridge just outside their house early this morning.

The truck ended up at an angle after striking the bridge in Coombe Valley Road at around 7.30am.

The cab had got underneath, but apparently hit the height-restricted obstacle as it tried to manoeuvre the rest of the vehicle through...
http://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/moment-lorry-became-stuck-under-638063?service=responsive
Onlookers in Dover were stunned after a lorry appeared hit and then become stuck under the Coombe Valley Bridge.

The collision occurred at about 7.30am today (October 17).

The lorry's load is now at an angle, with only its right hand wheels touching the ground....


qqLS64nG


Regular location in Dover, an industrial estate up that road.
 
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axlecounter

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Is there a particular reason why bridge strikes are so common in the UK? Never heard of more than a couple in several years on the (mainland Europe) railway.
 

Antman

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I appreciate that we all make mistakes but honestly, how the hell does a driver manage to do this?
 

TwistedMentat

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I'll admit at first read of the title I thought the bridge had gone on strike. I was very confused.
Is there a particular reason why bridge strikes are so common in the UK? Never heard of more than a couple in several years on the (mainland Europe) railway.

Could be various things. You don't hear about them, the roads under bridges are low enough to make any normal load fine, bridges replaced by overpasses, etc.

In the US there's a semi famous bridge for the reason of routinely being hit by trucks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11_foot_8_Bridge
 

misterredmist

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Is there a particular reason why bridge strikes are so common in the UK? Never heard of more than a couple in several years on the (mainland Europe) railway.[/QUOTE

I used to send a lot of self-drive 13.6 metre trailers over to Germany where there were many 4m height limits on their railway underpasses, and despite briefing drivers about the tightness of the clearance, particularly after road resurfacing, a few drivers did turn their trailers into 'cabriolets' over the years.....

the incident above would appear to suggest the driver may have approached too fast and got a bit of a shock ........
 

nottsnurse

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Hopefully driving without due care and attention charges will be brought against the driver.
 

DelW

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Is there a particular reason why bridge strikes are so common in the UK? Never heard of more than a couple in several years on the (mainland Europe) railway.
I don't know how the UK compares with continental Europe, but You Tube has many examples of bridge strikes in the US. Some locations seem to have permanent cameras judging by the number of times they crop up.
 

furnessvale

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Is there a particular reason why bridge strikes are so common in the UK? Never heard of more than a couple in several years on the (mainland Europe) railway.
Most European countries have a height limit, the UK has no such limit.
An attempt some years ago to introduce a UK height limit was fiercely resisted by the powerful road haulage lobby and the government backed down.
 

Antman

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They need to bring in some decent penalties for bridge strikes to discourage these occurrences .......

I don't know about discouraging them, presumably nobody hits a low bridge on purpose, but it would be interesting to hear this drivers explanation.
 

coupwotcoup

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Cletus

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DSC_0083.JPG From my local correspondent (dad), a crane has broken down on the way and another has been sent for.
 

shredder1

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Careless drivers. Nothing else unless Sat Nav.
I don't know about discouraging them, presumably nobody hits a low bridge on purpose, but it would be interesting to hear this drivers explanation.

I drove Class 1 HGV`s at weekends while being a full time student at University, lots of reasons, tireness too and sometimes bridges not clearly marked, signs missing, or resurfaced and signage not changed, changing trailers and not noticing one 16 footer in the mix at night, cab marked up at 14.5, I hit Sutton Bridge once in the 80`s while running different trailers through from Norwich to Oldham, it happens on low bridges at times.
 

shredder1

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Another point is bridges should be marked both in metric and imperial measurements, many older drivers wouldnt have a clue what 3.5 meters means, they were taught at school in imperial measurements, meters came along later.
 

nottsnurse

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Another point is bridges should be marked both in metric and imperial measurements, many older drivers wouldnt have a clue what 3.5 meters means, they were taught at school in imperial measurements, meters came along later.

Professional drivers (and we're often told they are) should be keeping themselves up-to-date.

I've driven both HGV 1s and 2s (and held ADR certification) both overseas and in the UK and have never had a bridge strike. It really isn't rocket science, indeed it was some of the easiest agency money I ever earned.
 

Antman

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Another point is bridges should be marked both in metric and imperial measurements, many older drivers wouldnt have a clue what 3.5 meters means, they were taught at school in imperial measurements, meters came along later.

I agree with you there but this one is also marked in feet and inches and surely just looking at this particular bridge it's obvious the lorry isn't going to fit?
 

axlecounter

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Most European countries have a height limit, the UK has no such limit.
An attempt some years ago to introduce a UK height limit was fiercely resisted by the powerful road haulage lobby and the government backed down.

Very interesting, thanks.
I was a bit surprised while reading UK railway regulations about how many of these are about bridge strikes. You even have "In case of strike call xxxx-yyy" plates. o_O Hence my question.

Another point is bridges should be marked both in metric and imperial measurements, many older drivers wouldnt have a clue what 3.5 meters means, they were taught at school in imperial measurements, meters came along later.

The good old inches, uh? I can totally relate to this kind of mistake though. Probably most are a combination of distraction, tiredness, stress, whatever else.
 

shredder1

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Very interesting, thanks.
I was a bit surprised while reading UK railway regulations about how many of these are about bridge strikes. You even have "In case of strike call xxxx-yyy" plates. o_O Hence my question.



The good old inches, uh? I can totally relate to this kind of mistake though. Probably most are a combination of distraction, tiredness, stress, whatever else.


I was driving arctics in the 1980`s, and only part time too, it must be a lot more difficult these days with all the traffic on the roads new restrictions, satnavs ect, yes I expect a combination as you suggest.
 

shredder1

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I agree with you there but this one is also marked in feet and inches and surely just looking at this particular bridge it's obvious the lorry isn't going to fit?

They are all suppose to be marked in both, that one seems a particulaly bad one though, lack of attention, mechanical failure, drunk, asleep, tired or a combination? It happens with buses under bridges, a blokes been driving a single decker for years and they suddenly put him in a double decker with a moments notice :s
 

shredder1

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Professional drivers (and we're often told they are) should be keeping themselves up-to-date.

I've driven both HGV 1s and 2s (and held ADR certification) both overseas and in the UK and have never had a bridge strike. It really isn't rocket science, indeed it was some of the easiest agency money I ever earned.

That seems a strange comment coming from an experienced HGV driver, sounds like you`ve had easy agency jobs, I`ve held an ARD/Hazchem too and been an ADI, driving instructor and dragged Europe in my younger days.
 

Spartacus

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Most European countries have a height limit, the UK has no such limit.
An attempt some years ago to introduce a UK height limit was fiercely resisted by the powerful road haulage lobby and the government backed down.

The vast majority of these bridge strikes are hit by vehicles which would be within any restrictions that would be considered, so it wouldn't make much difference. Bedford vans, often rented ones, are a common cause too, as are skip lorries and lorries transporting other vehicles.
 

nottsnurse

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That seems a strange comment coming from an experienced HGV driver, sounds like you`ve had easy agency jobs, I`ve held an ARD/Hazchem too and been an ADI, driving instructor and dragged Europe in my younger days.

I don't drive HGV's regularly anymore (clue is in my forum name) but I stand by my point. I got my licences through the military and did agency work when I could to make money on the side. Compared to some of the driving I did in the forces, agency driving in the UK was a doddle.

There are no excuses for professionals not keeping up to date with things such as metrification and even less excuse for such individuals either not knowing the height of their vehicle, or 'giving it a go' with height restrictions.

Ignorance is no excuse.
 

Antman

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I don't drive HGV's regularly anymore (clue is in my forum name) but I stand by my point. I got my licences through the military and did agency work when I could to make money on the side. Compared to some of the driving I did in the forces, agency driving in the UK was a doddle.

There are no excuses for professionals not keeping up to date with things such as metrification and even less excuse for such individuals either not knowing the height of their vehicle, or 'giving it a go' with height restrictions.

Ignorance is no excuse.

Surely if you are in any doubt at all you take it at absolute walking pace and get out and check, clearly this driver didn't do that.
 

Cletus

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My correspondent heard the lorry driver insist his height was 4.0m and the police measured the clearance to be 4.0m, not the 4.2m on the bridge.

Although if that was true, not sure why it hadn’t been noticed before.
 

shredder1

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I don't drive HGV's regularly anymore (clue is in my forum name) but I stand by my point. I got my licences through the military and did agency work when I could to make money on the side. Compared to some of the driving I did in the forces, agency driving in the UK was a doddle.

There are no excuses for professionals not keeping up to date with things such as metrification and even less excuse for such individuals either not knowing the height of their vehicle, or 'giving it a go' with height restrictions.

Ignorance is no excuse.


I`m sorry friend but although I agree with most of what you say, I don`t think many "give it a go", with height restrictions and its more to do with all the factors I`ve mentioned previously, mental tiredness probably being a major contributor, the tachograph legislation doesnt help at times either, it was a 15 hour day in the 1980 twice in a two week period, crazy. I was also a transport manager for a spell, so I have some understanding of the issues involved, all of which relate to human error ie wrong signs on bridges, driver error, badly maintained vehicles, road resurfacing mistakes. People are human and make mistakes, however we now have driverless cars and trucks on the horizon, so lets hope bridge hitting incidents decrease, but if they don`t we can always blame the computer programmer. The wording professional only relates to the fact that a person drives for a living and not that they have academic intelligence, although I`ve known Phd`s who hold a class 1. What I`m trying to say is its not always driver error.
 

shredder1

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My correspondent heard the lorry driver insist his height was 4.0m and the police measured the clearance to be 4.0m, not the 4.2m on the bridge.

Although if that was true, not sure why it hadn’t been noticed before.


The road could have been resurfaced, it happens and of course lowers the height of the bridge and sometimes they forget to change the sign to the correct height, bless them.
 
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