A bridge strike in Ireland about 30 years ago caused the bridge to shift. A passenger train was derailed resulting in 5 deaths. That 11 foot 8 bridge in the video is certainly well secured, but if there was a derailment, you would prefer not to be too close to the aftermath, judging by the speed of the freight train passing over it.
Michael J Walsh, Dublin, Ireland.
The 11 ft 8 bridge in Durham NC has a very heavy steel I- beam mounted about 8 ft ahead of the bridge. That is what the trucks are hitting, not the actual bridge. About 10 years ago I was returning to Charlotte on #79 when the bridge was hit. We were delayed 4+hours waiting on a NS bridge inspector to come check it. The I-beam was installed about 6 months later, paid for by NCDOT.
As for warning signs there are about a dozen of them, on both sides of the street, on all the streets approaching the bridge, in addition to the flashing lights at the bridge. There is no excuse for the morons to hit it.
Finally, if you go to YouTube and search there a number of mash-up videos of the bridge better then the one above. Some are pretty funny in their own way.
In the videos I've seen of trucks hitting this bridge, most of them are rentals (Ryder, U-Haul, Penske, etc.) The one time I rented a truck, there was no indication anywhere within the cab, and the rental agency never mentioned the height of the box body.
I have not rented all that many trucks, but those that I have had the box height clearly visible in the rear view mirrors... It was printed backward on the front corner of the box at a height such that it would be visible (and readable) in the mirrors. And I still managed to whack a "guard shack" roof overhang because the shack itself was mislabeled as to its height by 3 inches.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
Any class D driver is legally permitted to drive a straight truck as long as its GVWR is no more than 26,000 lbs. That means someone's grandmother could be driving a rental truck out there.
If the height is marked on the truck body, how do you know it is accurate? With no load, the rear of the body probably will be slightly higher than the front. I once knocked a overhead garage door off its track while a co-worker watched the front to check the clearance.
And how do you know the road wasn't repaved since they put up the clearance sign? They are definitely not accurate.
A good many companies with their own fleets rent vehicles to make up for equipment shortages. It's not all rank amateurs who don't know a box truck from a box of crackers.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
SealBook27 Any class D driver is legally permitted to drive a straight truck as long as its GVWR is no more than 26,000 lbs. That means someone's grandmother could be driving a rental truck out there. If the height is marked on the truck body, how do you know it is accurate? With no load, the rear of the body probably will be slightly higher than the front. I once knocked a overhead garage door off its track while a co-worker watched the front to check the clearance. And how do you know the road wasn't repaved since they put up the clearance sign? They are definitely not accurate.
Have you been to Durham? The signs are accurate and the roads not been repaved.
I remember the Cherry Valley bridge in Garden City. When I was a kid I went to the school right next to the bridge and watched a too high truck try to get under it. About half the roof got peeled off the truck before it stuck. Lot of laffs over that.
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