Bridge Bashing Club.
This is the one that was hit twice in two hours earlier this year…
Bridge struck twice in one day - UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS / THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE) - Trucknet UK
Luckily the driver of the archaic artic outfit obviously didn’t think it’s only 2m high.Ironically the same problem then as now high trucks instead of longer trucks and lower trucks.Should be 4.0m clearance max.
Over 4.0 metres clearance required should be STGO movements.
These bridge strikes are seemingly occurring on a daily basis, what goes through a driver’s mind, how can it happen?
An atlas with bridge heights are available everywhere or online.
Or did Dave from the yard say it’s ok, used that route for years, just go steady , you will fit under it?
I only know one bloke who hit a bridge. He owned an R600 and had been working local, carting 44 gallon drums crossing town on multiple occasions over two days. On the last load on the second day, he had to place a 20’ container in the middle of his 40’ trailer, with 44s either end. Unfortunately, out of habit he took the short cut under the Boggo Rd. bridge.
No excuse, but I can see how easily it happened.
Good story SDU, where I used to work they had an an empty trailer storage yard with trailers of all different heights, as an example if the day driver, casual relief driver or an agency driver was assigned to do factory shunting all day using different trailers it was an accident waiting to happen.
On the route to the factory there are two low bridges, so they could easily forget they had a high trailer, being complacent could made a good day end very badly.
You think that’s bridge bashing, this is bridge bashing!
Was that Geoffrey from the village driving that?
I doubt it, the truck is probably an automatic.
Mercedes EPS gear box, poor Geoffrey, the insurance bill must be eye watering.
The turbine has been removed over night, thre is major damage to the road surface and overbridge.
Detours will remain in place.
The latest from The Brisbane Times
A police investigation has been launched after a truck carrying a wind turbine tower got stuck under a major highway overpass, causing traffic delays and long detours.
The turbine tower got lodged on part of the Warrego Highway in south-east Queensland about 1.40am on Friday.
The turbine was removed some 12 hours later, with the westbound lane of highway expected to reopen on Sunday afternoon, and part of the overpass to reopen within a week.
Initial investigations suggest the driver of the oversized truck failed to follow escorting vehicles to an off-ramp, instead continuing on the highway.
Queensland Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg said the truck had a permit requiring it to leave the highway via a roundabout.
“The escort took that trip, but the truck did not,” he said on Saturday.
“There will be an investigation from the Queensland Police Service and my department.
“Pending that investigation, we will take action as appropriate.
“We need to understand what happened here … and ensure it doesn’t happen in the future.”
It was removed from the site by Qube Haulage, the company initially transporting the turbine part.
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding initially feared the overpass could be closed for up to a year.
“I’m very grateful [in terms of the reopening timeline],” she said.
“I just ask for people to be a bit patient over the next week while those detours are in place.”
She said the detour was adding 30 minutes to commuters’ trips.
The Warrego Highway connects Brisbane with parts of Queensland west of the capital, such as Toowoomba.
The truck driver, a man in his 50s, was taken to hospital for assessment.
I have a theory on how this happened. This is not the sort of job that is given to just anyone off the street. Qube have been moving these lumps, with police escort and professional pilots, for over a year.
I reckon all but the truck driver, were experienced with these movements. The truck driver, whilst experienced in heavy haulage, was new to this loading and route.
In theory, all the truck driver has to do is followed the pilot. The police and pilots have become complacent and get along at a fair clip, I witnessed it with my own eyes. The impacted bridge is at the end of a sweeping left hand bend, obscured by scrub. I theorize that the pilot was too far in front of the truck and the truck driver had lost sight of the pilot when he took the exit. The exit does a left right ess bend onto a roundabout. To rejoin the highway requires a 270⁰ on the roundabout, which has had a reinforced, but unsealed truncation, added specifically for these movements. The pilot is again out of site, hiiden by the southern approach to the overpass, as he takes control of the roundabout. The driver has missed the exit, not being able to see the pilot.
The police and pilots are on job and go, so are constantly rushing.
As a driver who has done onersize, escorted loads I have some understanding of the issues.
Most cops see this as an easy earner, they are off duty and on overtime, in police parlance, a special. In reality they rely on the private pilot(s) to do all the work, with their presence a legitimizing action. As the lead vehicle they are setting the pace, although the truck should be.
The private pilot(s) are happy with the pace, wanting to finish asap.
Some pilots are great, most are pretty ordinary. If the pilot is too close to the truck they are piloting they are not giving oncoming traffic time to react. If they are too far in front, the traffic reacts but resume normal mode, when passed the pilot if the oversize is not in sight. This is a dynamic role with the requirements constantly changing with conditions.
This movement was on a quiet, divided highway with a 100kph limit. They became complacent and were rushing.
I have seen many of these exact movements with the police upto five kilometers in front and the pilots two kilometers in front. This would put pressure on the driver, particularly if new on the job.
