The Bristol Railway Archive

BBC flags that a lorry hit the rail bridge in Gypsy Patch Lane.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/8656033.stm

Bridge strikes like this really irritate me. One stupid, careless truck driver and who pays for all the disruption and delay they cause? As far as I am aware, very seldom the truck driver.

The police should be charging them for careless driving and Network Rail should pursue these drivers through a civil court to recover the costs at full delay attribution rates. That might make them take more care ...

But one never seems to hear what (if anything?) happens to these careless drivers after such bridge strikes occur ...

The firm will pay dearly through their insurance premiums so the driver will pay as it could put his firm out of business.
I know someone who hit a bridge some years ago. Cost the insurance company ú100,000 which really pushed up the insurance premiums. This was despite the fact the vehicle was under the limit for the bridge. The road had been resurfaced and therefore raised and nobody bothered to alter the warning sign. Happens a lot nowadays due to all the defragmented services. It is always someone elses job!

bristolron wrote:The firm will pay dearly through their insurance premiums so the driver will pay as it could put his firm out of business.
I know someone who hit a bridge some years ago. Cost the insurance company ú100,000 which really pushed up the insurance premiums. This was despite the fact the vehicle was under the limit for the bridge. The road had been resurfaced and therefore raised and nobody bothered to alter the warning sign. Happens a lot nowadays due to all the defragmented services. It is always someone elses job!

Hang on a minute.....How on earth can it be the fault of the driver if the road had been raised??!!??
I expect there is some urban myth in this; all low bridges (low being 16'6" or under) on main routes are usually clearly signed, with diversionary routes on many. If the road had been raised then it surely cannot be the drivers fault. I do not see many stories of signs not being altered and bridges bashed.

I drive high vehicles and it is always on my mind when approaching a bridge.

However, in our area, I personally think that the Nailsea & Backwell bridge is not very well signed...quite often over height vehicles have to turn around and many have clipped the bridge and continued on their way. Even First buses have hit the bridge.

I'm no expert on road resurfacing but from genral obervations I have worked out that when a road is to be resurfaced there is usually yellow markings sprayed either to the side of the road or the kerb. To me this would indicate the level at which the tarmac would be layed too. So if the road surface is 600 mm then the new road surface will be laid to 600mm.
I dont know how much of the load was stuck under or hit the bridge but a road surface would have had to be have been raise by a reasonable height to been the cause.

stopblock wrote:I'm no expert on road resurfacing but from genral obervations I have worked out that when a road is to be resurfaced there is usually yellow markings sprayed either to the side of the road or the kerb. To me this would indicate the level at which the tarmac would be layed too. So if the road surface is 600 mm then the new road surface will be laid to 600mm.
I dont know how much of the load was stuck under or hit the bridge but a road surface would have had to be have been raise by a reasonable height to been the cause.

A driver of a vehicle is guided by the signs in place, not left to guess from non-standard markings on the road.

IIRC there is an element of leeway in the signage to overcome this problem eg. actual clearance 15'11", signed clearance 15'6"

If there was less clearance than the sign indictaed, then somebody in the Highways Department of the local council will be picking up the bridge repairs bill.

Dont think I made my point clearly I was saying that when a road is resurfaced it should be at the origianl height, Didnt mean it to sound like a driver should refer to those yellow markings those would be for the contractor resurfacing the road.

I see that another " Clown" HGV driver hit cattle market road bridge today. According to the Evening Post his Boss said it was an error of judement and he would be disciplined over it.