Ya know, I've always wondered why some, but not all obviously, of those who haul oversize or overheight freight don't seem to pay adequate attention to the size and dimensions of their loads and end up striking a low bridge. And this is quite evident by the fact that most bridges/overpasses have some sort of damage from being struck. I know I've seen video of a car hauler using a measuring rod to gauge bridge height. Seems like such a tool would be mandatory to carry. Perhaps @TripleSix and @blairandgretchen would be kind enough to weigh in.
Does anyone know if those pilot cars with the big rod sticking up.......do they have it set to the height of the load or higher or what? And like, how do they know if the rod brushes gently against an overpass when its like 14 feet above the top of the car and they can't see it? Curious minds would like to know.
High pole escorts set the height of their poles based on the load, usually have it set slightly heigher. As far as OS/OD loads, they are given very specific routing by the state, and over a certain height, many permits may require a survey trip. (A high pole drives the specified route solo before the load even moves to verify the height clearance)...if the load was on route then they either mismeasured their load height or the state screwed up the routing. As for how a high pole knows their pole hits something, it's monted solidly to the vehicle and if the tip hits something, they can hear it. The high pole escorts I have used have it so they can also see the tip.
There’s a certain procedure that I do when hauling overheight. Your pole car shows up. Pilot driver is 350lbs driving a 1992 Chevy longbed. I measure the height of the load with my height stick. The pilot will want to set his pole to the height of the load. Absolutely not! He’s 350 lbs driving a tired 30 year old truck. If he sets the stick and then gets into the pickup, the pole is actually set lower than the load. You, the OSOW driver, have him sit his fat arse in the truck and you set the pole six inches taller than the load. If you break for lunch or he goes anywhere without you, when he returns to duty, you do your procedure all over again. Have him sit his fat arse back in the truck and you set the height of the pole 6 inches taller than the load. Now, certain trailers will have adjustment for height or ground clearance. If you have to raise or lower the trailer at all, remeasure the load every time you have to Jack around with the suspension, and then redo the pole procedure: Have him sit his fat arse in the truck and you set the pole to 6 inches taller than the load. Point is, a bridge hit can be a career ender. You do not trust anyone with your career.
Forgot to mention, if the pole hits a bridge, the pilot driver will feel it. The big bridge hit up in Washington state was caused by the pilot car failing to notify the driver. Some times, the pilot car will have been fooling around on the radio and accidentally went on the wrong channel. Some times, the OSOW driver had his radio volume down because he’s trying to line up some poon. From what I’ve seen, most bridge hits are the high cube sea cans on a flat. They don’t think about it, but on a flat, it’s overheight. Should be on a step deck, but it wasn’t.
