I am retired from driving fuel tankers so I never had any trouble with low bridges. I now spend some time driving old double decker buses about which includes going under a bridge that used to be marked with a 14 feet 3 inch warning triangle. A Routemaster bus is 14 feet six inches and will go under this bridge emty.
The bridge is now marked with a 14 feet 3 inch round warning sign which I have been told is compulsory and I could be done for driving any vehicle over 14 feet three inches under it even without hitting the bridge. Has anyone had any trouble over this especialy a bridge near a depot for instance.
Cheers Phil 43 years on tankers, what is a rope thingy.
One of those particular buses was 14 feet 4 and nine sixteenth inches tall when first built, according to London Transport vehicle statistics chart 0392. It also details the unladen weight which is different from what is signwritten on the side of the vehicle. These figures were rounded to the nearest convenient unit; height up for safety reasons, weight down for tax reasons. This was not the only type of double deck vehicle the company operated, the actual height of which varied according to type, however they were marked with the standard height of 14’ 6" to avoid confusion. IIRC a Scania Metropolitan was marked 14’ 9" because it was actually 14’ 6 and a half inches tall." During the course of their lifetime numerous modifications were made. One of these was the addition of a round dome on the roof, inside which was IIRC an aerial for the two way radio. Other modifications included an alteration in tyre size which also affects overall height.
As said the sign has been altered to a compulsory limit, since this is below the height marked on your vehicle you will be prosecuted if seen. There is a possibility that since the height of a London bus is fairly well known, and that you have been seen repeatedly, the bridge has been remarked to deter others from assuming that as you can get under the bridge they can as well, when in fact they cannot .
Thanks cav551. There is a way round this bridge through a housing estate I will have to go that way and get plod to shift any cars blocking the way. If a haulier is using a bridge on a regular route with trailers that will go under but are above the limit I suppose the gestapo will be waiting there with a measuring pole before long.
I was planning a route the other day in a 15 foot trailer. My atlas which is 1 year old had a bridge marked 15’3 and was a pretty direct route so I thought happy days. Don’t know why but I decided to have a look at the bridge on google street view and it was a circle saying 15 foot. When I drove past the road I would have turned down it was indeed marked as 15 foot also. Too close for comfort for my liking so I went about 15 miles extra to get round.