The wagon I use at work is 12 foot on my round there seems to be a few 12’ 3" bridges some are flat and some are arched so far I have been avoiding them but it can add on a fair bit in terms of time and distance. Would you guys carry on detouring round them or would you take the markers at face value and go under them.
coop
Personally I’d go under
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Dinsdale:
Measure the actual height of your vehicle,i did it with one of my trailers and it turned out to be a couple of inches less than stated and that was empty so probably lower loaded.
Air suspension? No/little difference.
I take the markers on bridges as gospel. Think of the legal ramifications if they were proven incorrect!
There is a theory that the bridge is always “Marked height + 3 inches” but I have always ignored that. But, if you are absolutely certain that your wagon is only 12’ (Always measure empty!) then I would say Sod the detours and crack on!
Had similar issues a couple of weeks ago, what i did find out is that bridges have to be marked at least 3 inches lower than they actually are, my truck is 12ft 11. I went under a bridge marked 13ft with room to spare
I took…
A 12’ 3" under a 12’ 3". As I was crawling under it, a freight train went over… I ■■■■ myself.
I digress, go for it, just use yer noodle with the arched ones. If you need to dominate the whole road in order to get through then drive straight down the middle.
[
All local/highways authorities mark bridge heights in accordance with the official Traffic Signs Manual. The procedure is:
- Measure the clearance under the bridge (at various points to establish the minimum figure);
- Deduct 3" to establish a safety margin;
- Round-down to the next lowest multiple of 3" and mark the bridge at this figure.
Your bridges marked at 12’ 3" must have been measured as at least 12’ 6" (probably more) and so your 12’ lorry (assuming it has been measured accurately…) should have no problem at all.
Arched bridges are marked with “Goalposts” which indicate the part(s) of the bridge were the marked height(s) were measured - in the centre of the arch the clearance will be significantly more. So again, with your 12’ vehicle it will be fine as long as it is lined up correctly on the approach. Be prepared to take the centre of the road if necessary.
Be aware of the different signage that can be used.
(refresher on the Highway Code)
Triangles are warnings.
Circular, with a red border are prohibitions.
Go past a triangle marked at less than your vehicle height… no real worries.
Go past a circle, at more than the height allowed: you`ve committed an offence. You may sail under any bridge, but it is a possible bust.
id go under no reason why not your under the marked height.
ill be honest am bit paranoid when it comes to arch bridges the ones where you need to straddle both lanes
I can be 2/3 inches lower than marked height but I get worried I might stray over to far from the middle and catch the brickwork
Franglais:
Be aware of the different signage that can be used.
(refresher on the Highway Code)
Triangles are warnings.
Circular, with a red border are prohibitions.
Go past a triangle marked at less than your vehicle height… no real worries.
Go past a circle, at more than the height allowed: you`ve committed an offence. You may sail under any bridge, but it is a possible bust.
But in the examples mentioned by the OP the signage shows a height 3 inches higher than the vehicle…
I go under 14ft 3in bridges with a 14ft 3in trailer and never bat an eyelid.
If it is an arched bridge there will be vertical lines showing where the height limit applies between so just stay in those.
Remember the sign isn’t the height but minimum safe clearance [emoji6]
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if in doubt,get into crawler,headlights on full,hazards on in the middle of the road,and hangout the window looking back and upwards is the way to go…you can always dump the air/raise/lower if things get desperate.
So long as you’re absolutely sure that your height is 12ft a 12’ 3’’ flat bridge shouldn’t be a problem.Arched bridges without road markings to guide the marked max height are a gamble and best avoided at that margin.
Never believe the height marked on the front of a trailer. They should all say what height fifth wheel that height is based on, but do you know the running height of your fifth wheel? If not, then measure it! Easily done. just measure the height of the rubbing plate to the road of a coupled up trailer thats at running height. Also, there are a lot of trailers out there with heights marked only in metric, while a good number of bridges are only marked in feet and inches. I carry a little card with the conversions done, but you can print out charts ready made from t’internet. Or even get your office to print some out for you.
I ink there was a case years ago where bridge had been resurfaced every body thought somebody would alter the height until a poor chap hit the bridge