Student Driver Takes Out Power Lines

the lines can also sag from tree branches resting on them, like after a big rain storm.. i know, i have seen that before as well.

 

That is true in all jurisdictions. It doesn't mean the truck driver can't be cited for hitting them though. I haven't read anything saying if this was or wasn't a legal truck route.

 

Had a friend driving for Overnite Transportation working local in Culpeper Va. He had a delivery for a business downtown. As he pulled up to the business, he pulled next to the curb, by doing so, he snagged a line, down came the pole with 2 transformers on it. One transformer crashed through the roof of the trailer the other one hit the roadway. The driver was told by Overnite, you can forget this, either the city of Culpeper, the power co. or the phone company is going to pay for this because all lines across a public highway must meet a certain height. On private property it is entirely upon the driver.

 

i always thought the minimum height of lines across roads, city, state, town, were supposed to be at 15 feet.

 

i got this, it's in meters, but is about 14 to 18 feet...

Q&A: What height electricity cables?

then there is this too

What Is the Standard Height of Power Lines?

 

Let’s say Dixie State University orders a semi load of new bookcases and desks and other assorted office furniture....
Are we suppose to drop it from the back of an airplane to get it to them?
Crikes !! We’re all truck drivers and we can’t agree that it isn’t the truck drivers fault in any way.

I have never stopped in the road and got out and measured a utility line.
Utility lines are like giant spiders and snakes.
If they get hit...SO WHAT!!!

 

States, power companies, phone companies, cable companies and whoever else have lines or other objects stretched across roadways, they are all too "slack" in keeping them maintained so they can meet the required codes. While we are on this subject, it has always "bugged" me that warning signs such as low clearances are not really put in locations where a trucker can avoid the situation. Why wait 50 yards from a low underpass to warn drivers? By that time the driver is "caught" between a rock and a hard place. Low weight bridges, the same deal.