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Bridge bashing


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3 hours ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

I know that part of Bristol very well. It is not a sensible route for getting a bus back to "The Centre".

Actually, it is not a sensible way to take a bus anywhere.

The driver must have been well and truly lost to have got that far. 

Best wishes 

Eric 

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On 11/09/2020 at 04:39, melmerby said:

Another low bridge on a bus route (27) :

https://goo.gl/maps/GPkLhZtMwjhPhfkU8

 

(Bournville next to the Cadbury Factory.)

The route has been running since 1935

That bridge looks like the arch has been infilled. Is it possible that the bridge had originally been built with different height entrances?

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Both these incidents were related to journeys introduced to relieve the local bus services and allow social distancing to be maintained on the service journeys. Bus operators have been frantically gathering together as many spare vehicles and drivers as they could muster to provide these. 
 

Aside from issues with getting enough drivers with completed DBS checks to drive them, they’ve also been moving staff around depots to balance supply and demand. The Stagecoach driver was a new recruit on his first day and as was evident, the vehicle in Bristol (Operated by a small independent) was reportedly in an area unfamiliar to the driver.

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16 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Bridge bashing with a difference.

Some of the wagons were loaded with cars.

In the early days of the Channel Tunnel, there was a car train from Frethun to somewhere in England (Corby?) The people loading the train had put the upper deck into the 'High' position to make loading easier; unfortunately no-one thought to check it had subsequently been lowered. It passed through the Channel Tunnel without any problem, but then travelled through Saltwood Tunnel, which is to UK loading gauge. Those vehicles with roof-bars had lost them, and a lot of paintwork was scratched.

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2 hours ago, lmsforever said:

When will drivers know the height of their vehicles they should be fined and maybe banned but will they?

instant p45 in most  cases tea & biscuits with local traffic commissioner usualy resulting in suspension of All vocational licences for 6-12 months untill after any prosecution plus fines and a forensic investigation of tachograph history of driver and company records believe me having been in a company where this happens it ain't fun  .then any points and fines from court 

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3 hours ago, lmsforever said:

they should be fined and maybe banned but will they?

Yes. They are. 

It's just that there's a helluva lot of HGV & PSV Drivers, but a very small percentage ruin the reputation of the vast majority.

As discussed earlier in the Thread, there are also more inexperienced drivers out there than there used to be.  Be afraid. Be VERY afraid.

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13 hours ago, peanuts said:

instant p45 in most  cases tea & biscuits with local traffic commissioner usualy resulting in suspension of All vocational licences for 6-12 months untill after any prosecution plus fines and a forensic investigation of tachograph history of driver and company records believe me having been in a company where this happens it ain't fun  .then any points and fines from court 

 

Not in all cases.

559349672_bridgebashing2.jpg.6360fb3fdcb906ede84a7d4b3e8703e3.jpg

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7 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

It says 4 metres/13 feet on the bridge sign. 4 metres is 13 feet 1.5 inches. I wonder if some signs have even greater discrepancies.

Your close, it states 4.1 meters/13 feet, which a standard 4 meter truck should fit under. But 13 feet is 3.9 meters which a 4 meter truck obviously doesn't.

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43 minutes ago, bigherb said:

Your close, it states 4.1 meters/13 feet, which a standard 4 meter truck should fit under. But 13 feet is 3.9 meters which a 4 meter truck obviously doesn't.

20 centimetres is a whopping 8 inches in old money. If that sort of discrepancy is common its no surprise that continental drivers and many younger drivers who have only been taught metric keep hitting bridges. 

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1 hour ago, Wickham Green too said:

That depend on which is actually the correct dimension !!?!

It could actually be neither, it is not unknown for clearance to be incorrectly lower after road resurfacing, but in this case 13' appears to be closest.

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21 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

20 centimetres is a whopping 8 inches in old money. If that sort of discrepancy is common its no surprise that continental drivers and many younger drivers who have only been taught metric keep hitting bridges. 

The closet to match the signage and keeping under is

 

4.1 Metres  13 foot 5.4 inches., which is not an 8 inch leeway.

 

Shouldn't matter what they are taught in school or which country they are from, the bridge is marked in BOTH systems.

 

The driver should know the height in BOTH measurements, if driving in the UK. So either the driver has got it wrong OR the height marking of the sign is wrong - the latter is possible, but unless the road has recently been modified in some way, then unlikely.

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On 18/09/2020 at 09:41, bigherb said:

Your close, it states 4.1 meters/13 feet, which a standard 4 meter truck should fit under. But 13 feet is 3.9 meters which a 4 meter truck obviously doesn't.

 

2 hours ago, kevinlms said:

The closet to match the signage and keeping under is

 

4.1 Metres  13 foot 5.4 inches., which is not an 8 inch leeway.

 

Shouldn't matter what they are taught in school or which country they are from, the bridge is marked in BOTH systems.

 

The driver should know the height in BOTH measurements, if driving in the UK. So either the driver has got it wrong OR the height marking of the sign is wrong - the latter is possible, but unless the road has recently been modified in some way, then unlikely.

As pointed out, 13 feet is not 4.1 metres but is considerably less which in this instance as pointed out is 5.4 inches (13 feet is 3.96 metres). Thats still a difference of nearly five and a half inches. If your driving 44 tons of HGV that is 4 metres high and the sign says 4.1 metres you have every right to expect it to be the indicated height and the margin of error between the two systems should be far less than in this case (5.4 inches, nearly 3%). 

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56 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

 

As pointed out, 13 feet is not 4.1 metres but is considerably less which in this instance as pointed out is 5.4 inches (13 feet is 3.96 metres). Thats still a difference of nearly five and a half inches. If your driving 44 tons of HGV that is 4 metres high and the sign says 4.1 metres you have every right to expect it to be the indicated height and the margin of error between the two systems should be far less than in this case (5.4 inches, nearly 3%). 

Have I missed something? How does anyone know that the truck is 4.0 metres tall?

 

Perhaps the sign in imperial should read 13 ft 3in, but no more. 

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The bottom line is the disparity between the two dimensions. There's probably some disparity on almost every bridge that is signed as this one is but it should never be as much as in this case. It should be no more than a couple of inches or five centimetres.

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1 hour ago, kevinlms said:

Have I missed something? How does anyone know that the truck is 4.0 metres tall?

 

Perhaps the sign in imperial should read 13 ft 3in, but no more. 

Because that is the normal Euro truck max height.

It shouldn't be marked 13ft 3in because the bridge is only 13ft/3.9mtr not the 4.1mtr what the sign says.

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If the sign says 4.1m and the lorry is 4m then the company who owns the lorry has a claim for damage to the lorry, loss of earnings while the lorry is off the road and damages to their reputation. Who is responsible for the height restriction sign? Is it National Rail or the local road authority? 

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