Bridge strike
Driver reported after latest incident
AN HGV driver was reported for driving without due care and attention after a lorry crashed – yet again – into a low railway bridge on the A5.
High vehicles smashing into the bridge near Nutts Lane, Hinckley, has been a regular occurrence for years.
The latest incident happened just before 10pm on Friday night.
Prior to that, the most recent incident was at the end of October.
In Friday’s crash, police were called and found the 4.7m-high lorry trailer wedged under the bridge.
The cargo of cardboard boxes was removed from the trailer, which was then extricated from under the bridge.
Police said the trailer was just a few centimetres too high to fit underneath.
The Road Policing Unit tweeted at 10.10pm on Friday: “If your HGV trailer is 4.7 metres high DO NOT try and fit under a 4.6 metre bridge... the consequences of this cause massive disruption and will cost your company a lot of money.
“Driver reported for driving without due care and attention. #knowyourvehicle #RPU #readsigns.”
Half an hour later they thanked Crouch Recovery, which attended the incident, and the patient motorists stuck on the A5.
They said: “Absolutely cracking work by @CrouchRecovery staff tonight on the A5.
“Everyone working really well as a team and as quickly and safely as possible to get the road open again and cause the least amount of disruption to other road users.
“Thanks for people’s patience during the closures.”
In cases where such collisions lead to trains being stopped, taxpayers’ money is used to compensate rail operators.
In an article in the Leicester Mercury last summer, David Bill, Leicestershire county councillor for Hinckley, said action was urgently needed to stop the wasted time and money, but neither Network Rail nor Highways England wanted to take responsibility.
He said: “These incidents have been going on for the 40 years I’ve been a councillor and on many occasions they have disrupted the rail network as well as the roads. “Over the years this must have cost the local economy millions of pounds with all the delays.
“So far, there has been insufficient effort to stop these things from happening.
“There are warning signs but those are somehow not understood by drivers.”
A Highways England spokesman said at the time: “The bridge is owned and maintained by Network Rail.
“We do have signage in place to warn drivers of the height restrictions and are continuing to look at how we can help drivers become more aware of the risks.”
A Network Rail spokesman said: “We are aware a lorry struck a rail bridge in Watling Street in Hinckley.
“Bridge strikes cause significant delays to both road and rail users, as well as disruption to the community.
“We share the frustration of our stakeholders that they happen so frequently at Watling Street and would be happy to discuss initiatives which would reduce bridge strikes.
“When a road vehicle strikes a bridge there is a threat to railway safety and, as Network Rail is taxpayer funded, all the costs incurred, including delayed trains, are paid for by the public.”