Rant on low bridges

Got my daily safety message over the Qualcomm the other day, and got informed that one of our drivers had hit a low bridge. My thought was that this guy was an idiot, and was 100% at fault. But, within hours I found myself stopped in the middle of the road, face to face with a bridge I couldn't clear. I knew enough to stop before I hit it, but it left me thinking about how some of these situations seem like they are almost trying to get the driver to hit something. Not saying that it is not the drivers fault, as I think that any time a driver hits a bridge they are at fault, but in some of these cases I can start to understand the sequence of events that led the driver to make this big mistake.

Now, my job requires me to do an average of 15 stops a week, most of which are to store fronts in whatever town they are in. It is very common for me to have to travel on roads that are off limits to trucks if they are not making a delivery. So, I do see more of these small roads and tiny bridges than the normal driver. With my 90 days up at my new job next week, I have encountered four bridges I could not clear, and found that none of them were mentioned in the atlas.

I do not know for sure which bridge my former coworker hit, but based on my limited information, I can make a guess as to which one it was. This 13' bridge is one of the four that I have come face to face with, and is on what it mapped as a truck route. Now, I don't know who makes the decision to have a road marked as a truck route on a map, but it seems to me that it should be able to be driven by the average 13'6" truck. If you can not clear it with that tall of a truck, then why is it mapped as a truck route? Seems stupid to me.

When I came to that bridge, I had to back up and take the last side road before the bridge. It was marked as "no trucks", but seemed to be a much smarter decision than hitting a bridge. I understand the limitation based on it being residential, but also had issues clearing some of the low hanging wires. In one block, I had to get out of the truck several times to check clearances, and zig zag down the street to go under the wires in spots where they were higher just so I could clear them. Whoever is in charge of the streets in these towns should have realized that there will one day be a truck on this truck route who has to turn to keep from hitting the bridge, and get the wires raised. Not saying that you can't have signs banning trucks on these roads, but having the last exit before hitting the bridge not able to be safely traveled by a truck is just stupid.

One that I came close to was 11'6" and was at the edge of a sharp curve in the road. You can see the clearance sign just in time to stop the truck, and if you take your eyes off the road for a second you might miss it before it is too late. If you are going to have a low bridge at the end of a curve, it might be a good idea to post a sign before the curve where it can be seen. This will also keep us drivers from having to back around the curve, so that we can get to the side road to take an alternate route. As far as I am concerned, that is a real bad situation for a driver to have to be in.

Same goes for those low bridges that come right after a hill. Driver is doing their job well enough to stop before they hit the bridge, and now they have to back up to go down a side street and avoid it. Because of the hill, oncoming traffic has a limited sight distance to see the truck backing up, and the truck driver can not see the traffic coming up behind him. A low bridge sign before the hill would have been very welcome, so that I could have stopped before I was over the hill.

I have been taught from several sources that an unmarked bridge is always going to be at least 13'6". Most often this is true, but we all know that sometimes it is not. I can more easily forgive this on small roads, where traffic will easily allow me to stop so I can check my clearance. But, on a busy road, not having a sign is irresponsible. Really sucks to have to sit there blocking traffic while I wait for someone to help me back up safely.

Now, some of these bridges are only low clearance for part of the underpass. Think of those bridges where there is a hill at the edge of the bridge, so that you will easily clear all of it, except for that very last edge. These really should be marked, and if you make the bridge in the last example above one of these (which it was), it makes for a cruel joke to play on a driver. Thankfully I knew enough not to hit it, but I imagine that several other drivers were not as lucky.

I should also say something about some of the cops and some of the people in these small towns. I bet that they would be some of the first ones to complain if my truck hit something, or that I am holding up traffic. Yet, they are the last to offer any assistance, even after I ask for it. They know the town better than I do, which should be obvious due the fact that I am blocking traffic going under a bridge, so why are they so reluctant to offer up directions? We are all people, so why not give some assistance to someone else when it is needed? Note that I am not directing that towards those people who saved me by giving me local directions after I begged for them, or the awesome cop in Norwalk, CT who gave me a police escort after I explained that, "you can either help me now, or be called out to the accident scene in a few minutes."


To those that don't know, it's things like this that are the reasons for properly planning out a route. But, just because you did does not mean you will never encounter a low bridge (3 of the 4 were on my planned route, with the 4th being on what looked like a good alternate after I passed my exit). Also, realize that it is very important to check the had clearances section of your atlas, but also just as important to understand that not every low bridge in the country is listed there. Pay attention, go slow, and read every sign you pass, especially when you get into town. If you are in doubt, do not hesitate to just bring the truck to a stop.