Bridge strikes
Qualified HGV Class 1 driver PIP DUNN examines the problem and considers what can be done to eliminate bridge strikes.
Avoiding low bridges is not rocket science for drivers of high vehicles. PIP DUNN, a qualified HGV Class 1 driver, examines the problems and considers what needs to be done to reduce (and hopefully put an end to) the all-too-frequent incidents of bridge bashing
Tall road vehicles hitting railway bridges remains a big problem for Network Rail, and a highly controversial issue ( Comment, RAIL 867 and 869; Open Access, RAIL 869 and 872). But the simple truth is… it need not be.
As someone with a foot firmly in both camps - rail and road - I find every bridge strike a source of frustration. Frustration for both modes. Mostly for the delays and costs that the railway incurs, but also for road haulage with the cost as well as the damage to its reputation.
There are a number of issues about bridge strikes that need to be addressed. Firstly, the road haulage industry - and bus operators - cannot escape the fact that virtually all bridge strikes are its own doing. Even drivers from the ‘big boys’ such as Downton, Stobarts and Wincanton hit bridges from time to time, and the truth is… they really shouldn’t!
The word ‘virtually’ is used here because there is the occasional, isolated incident of signage being incorrect that leads a driver to believe his vehicle will fit when (in fact) it won’t.
For example, there was one in North Wales three years ago when a Polish driver hit a bridge. The signs implied he’d fit, but because the conversion from imperial to metric was carried out incorrectly, the sign was wrong and his four-metre truck wouldn’t fit. Even so, the haulage industry must be honest here, and accept that such instances are very, very rare!
Then there is the possibility that resurfacing of a road may raise the road an inch or two, and so reduce the height under a bridge. But again, that’s not only highly unlikely, it’s a real rarity.
In the cold light of day, it is indisputable that nearly all bridge bashes are caused by driving without due care and attention. That can be due to complacency, to (let’s be honest here) just sheer plain stupidity, or to the driver not paying enough attention to road signs.
There is currently no legal maximum height for an HGV in the UK, and therefore all bridges on motorways are normally 4.8 metres to five metres high. That said, while pretty much all motorway bridges are 5m high or more, there are examples of 4.8m bridges on motorways. These will have warning signs, but given the speed and density of traffic on these roads, they are sometimes not that easy to spot.
With that in mind, if your vehicle is 4.8m high, you need to plan any motorway route with total care - just as you would (or should) when using A or B roads.
Before a driver starts a shift, or takes over a vehicle from another driver, they need to be happy that the vehicle is safe and legal for the road. It is a requirement that a walk-round visual inspection of the vehicle is undertaken, which means the driver checks that all his lights, wipers, mudguards, landing legs and so on are all fit for purpose. The truck must have sufficient consumables such as fuel, oil and water to see it through the day (or to a point where they can be filled up), and the tyres must be in good condition, fully pumped up and the wheelnuts are tight.
Since October 1997, it has been a legal requirement for all vehicles over 3m to have a height indicator in the cab, to display the maximum height of the vehicle - including
In the cold light of day, it is indisputable that nearly all bridge bashes are caused by driving without due care and attention. That can be due to complacency, to (let’s be honest here) just sheer plain stupidity, or to the driver not paying enough attention to road signs.
its load. This is a pretty basic piece of kit and should be adjusted by a driver every time they change trailer, and checked by any driver when they get in their truck.
What drivers also need to remember is that the height of their vehicle can (and will) change. It can even change during the day! That’s because while the height of the tractor unit pulling the trailer is pretty fixed (although even here, the height of a truck can be raised or lowered by the driver to meet certain requirements), trailer heights vary immensely. For example, a typical trailer that a truck will haul will give an overhaul height in excess of four metres.
But many hauliers now use double-deck trailers. These are for high-volume, low-weight goods and are typically 4.88m (16ft) high. People say the EU stifles the UK’s rules, but a plan in 2010 to restrict all trailers to 4m height across Europe was never implemented in the UK.
Also problematic can be car transporters, although these too tend to be restricted to 16ft high. Occasionally they can go higher, but tend to do so only with special dispensation from the haulage company’s boss.
Given the high value of their loads, drivers have to err on the side of caution. Ironically, a car transporter hitting a rail bridge will cause the least damage to the bridge, but the most to the load.
To check their height, drivers have measuring poles, and these are vital for loads such as car transporters and any load on a flatbed or low-loader trailer. A factory-built trailer will have its maximum height ( based on the maximum realistic height when coupled to a typical tractor unit) displayed on a panel on it, and usually repeated in big transfers near the top of the trailer.
There are a number of issues with driver
training. For example, the HGV training and test uses an unladen (and short) trailer. You can pass your test in this pretty basic truck and then legally get your hands on a 500hp, 44-tonne, 15.5 metre-long and 4.88 metre-high truck if you so desire. The reality is that not many firms would allow such a massive jump, but it highlights an issue on training.
Then there’s the current nationwide driver shortage, which means that too many hauliers feel forced to take on whatever drivers they can get. Many do not have English as a first language, or are not familiar with imperial measurements… or both, although that need not be an issue if they then receive suitable training.
Of course, every HGV driver is a rookie when they start. But the driver shortage in a deregulated market means that currently, too often drivers are taken on and thrown in at the deep end.
Most will learn the job that way, but without good mentoring and additional training any new driver will find it hard - as will any driver new to the country who could be still trying to learn the language while also getting used to driving on a different side of the road.
The road haulage industry has tried to improve its training with the Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC), but sadly this has been so badly thought-out and implemented that in many cases it’s nothing more than a box-ticking (and money-making?) exercise that offers little value to drivers - new or experienced.
What the industry needs is a proper, wellstructured CPC, where drivers undertake quality training and not pointless modules. Quality CPC training should include all drivers needing to know about low bridges, narrow roads and load security.
Moving on to technology, many new trucks have great technology available on them to avoid hitting a pedestrian who steps out into the road. Mercedes recently showed off its version 5 of its Active Brake Assist system, which will stop the truck dead (without any intervention from the driver) at 50kph (30mph) if a person one metre or taller walks out in front of it within 15 metres.
This technology needs to be adapted to stop the vehicle in the same way if it approaches a low bridge. One option could be that any haulier who fits these safety devices should enjoy lower insurance premiums, to offset the cost. Eventually, such gadgetry would become the norm.
Satnavs are great, but drivers need to use those where they can set their height - and indeed width and length. All too often, a driver will follow a satnav religiously, regardless of the fact that they will be sent down a road where their truck won’t fit.
Finally, road hauliers should be held accountable - and prosecuted - for bridge strikes where they are at fault. And if the legislation is not tight enough now, then it needs to be tightened up.
A charge of ‘hitting a bridge’ needs to be introduced, with proportionate punishments. A lenient fine for ‘driving without due care and attention’ is not appropriate when you cause thousands of pounds worth of damage to infrastructure, and delay hundreds of people (on the roads and railways) in the process. We should be talking revocation of operator and drivers’ licences AND hefty fines.
Network Rail should not foot the bill. Hauliers need bridge insurance and every incident needs to be investigated (incorrect signage would exonerate the truck driver). Hauliers also need to look at tougher disciplinary action against drivers who do hit bridges - they need to up their game.
It’s not rocket science to avoid hitting a bridge. If hitting a bridge ‘blew up the truck and sent the driver into orbit’, then every driver under the sun would ensure they didn’t hit them! So just why they still hit them remains baffling.