Cruise Control:
even with warnings we still manage to hit bridges, looks like they almost made it through, almost.
I’ll bet he’s been through and delivered and had his lift axle up… Looks like a high cube, so he shouldn’t have been going through anyway, but with lift axle down ie loaded, he probably made it, because it looks like he hit it at a fair old rate of knots.
Realised that I have posted this on wrong thread, similar topic, 
sorry
I took this photo a few years ago, think it was on the M1 heading south, Laddo in front was a gnats nacker away from the scaffolding on the bridges, Surely the bridges should have been marked as lower due to the scaffold
That bridge scaffolding is what Health and Safety is supposed to be all about, i.e. the scaffolders or someone in overall charge should have measured the resulting height and done something about it, which I’m sure they did, otherwise the resulting inquiry would state it was an accident not having to wait long to happen, surely. Of course, if the gap was still over the 16ft minimum (or whatever the rules were at the time), which I would hope it was, then there would be no need to publish the height.
As for removing double-deckers to create jobs, that would work eventually by making us even less productive and creating jobs - in China etc. You would have to be a luddite to think all this “progress” has not made our lives generally easier.
Snudger:
That bridge scaffolding is what Health and Safety is supposed to be all about, i.e. the scaffolders or someone in overall charge should have measured the resulting height and done something about it, which I’m sure they did, otherwise the resulting inquiry would state it was an accident not having to wait long to happen, surely. Of course, if the gap was still over the 16ft minimum (or whatever the rules were at the time), which I would hope it was, then there would be no need to publish the height.As for removing double-deckers to create jobs, that would work eventually by making us even less productive and creating jobs - in China etc. You would have to be a luddite to think all this “progress” has not made our lives generally easier.
Actually, 16’6 is the lower limit for a bridge before it has to be signed. Lots of 16’3 double deck trailers running around, fridges etc, and car transporters normally run around 16’ +/-, especially with vans or 4x4’s on.
" (or whatever the rules were at the time) ". The photo was taken “a few years ago”. Since when has it been 16.5 ft? Seriously! I know that it changed from 16ft minimum a while back. I presume lowering the road made all the difference.
Snudger:
" (or whatever the rules were at the time) ". The photo was taken “a few years ago”. Since when has it been 16.5 ft? Seriously! I know that it changed from 16ft minimum a while back. I presume lowering the road made all the difference.
No idea mate, only been driving 15yrs, always been 16’6 whilst I’ve been driving. I used to think it was 16’, but I’m guessing this was a MMTM story that stuck in my head, when I did my PSV in 2000, it was in the theory test and it was 16’6 then.
Schmitz do a double decker, that with the right profile tires and low slung 5th wheel, comes in at 4m. It can carry 67 euro palletts
You do have to wonder when drivers hit bridges, it isn’t a lapse in concentration, it is sheer stupidity
I have hit a bridge myself, strange because I went under it fine going one way, yet coming home it wouldn’t go under. it was very tight so I had slowed right down luckily and therefore avoided chewing my steering wheel. It was on an older (new at the time) lorry on springs, so the ride height changed by a few inches when empty. I managed to get one of the rivets on the bridge stuck in the top twistlock hole thingy of the container I had on and couldn’t go backwards or forwards. I was about to let the air out of the tyres, but decided a bit of brute force would do just as good and require far less work, so diff lock in, lots of revs and side stepping the clutch was the method of extraction and it worked, made a lot of noise though 
Many of you who are commenting about pallet networks seem to have no idea of just how efficient they are compared with direct deliveries.
The widely quoted figure of £50 is not accurate and many (or even most) pallets get delivered for a lot less. Not all pallets are standard and a DD may well have a lot more on than you might think. The only rules are that the goods have to be handled by FLT, be under 1 tonne (that is widely ignored) and less than 2 metres tall. Pallets under 500kg and euros go at half price.
If DDs were outlawed then costs would go up dramatically. Who would pay? We would at the till.
I think we could learn a lot from Europe about how to construct lower lower trailers and lowering fifth wheels on trucks.
But I see no need to reduce the heights in the UK, I pull 4m trailers and still have to avoid bridges including one near where we’re based. I’ve actually measured it and we would clear it, but it’s signed lower so I won’t risk it in case they resurface the road when I’m away.
In the town I used to work out of there were 3 bridges, on main routes, they were 16ft, 13ft and 13ft 9. It was the 13ft9 bridge that was hit regularly. Quite often by local drivers who’d forgot what trailer they had on.
The other problem was it was a long way from a good turn round point and the warning signs at the diversion were quite often covered by the hedge. On more than one occasion I’d try and stop the traffic to allow a truck to reverse out only to have the muppet car drivers go round me on the pavement to be met by a revering truck. 
Hope the culina going the other way in the photo is watching where hes going an not laughing at his mate !!! 
Own Account Driver:
Bridge in Botley road Oxford is marked 13’6 but a lot higher than that will go under up to 4.25m maybeI think the double decker buses ignore it unless they’re some special short ones made for Oxford.
Oxford Double deckers are specially made 13’ high iirc.
