High xpectations
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While some drivers try to squeeze their vehicles under bridges by the narrowest of margins, many miscalculate, causing damage which has financial
and safety implications for
the structure, railway lines, trains and their passengers, other road users and themselves.
If anyone looks at Bristol Temple Meads station or St Pancras in London they will see
the railway boom of the 19th century left Britain with a rich architectural legacy. It also left it with large numbers of low bridges built in the days of the horse and cart—and today's trucks and buses are smashing into them with alarming regularity.
Rai1track calculates that it suffers 1,200 bridge bashing incidents—it prefers the term "bridge strikes"—annually, which cost it around .£10m in total.
Those are notified incidents. It believes there are many more which are never reported, and is encouraging members of the public to blow the whistle on any they see.
It is also trialling cameras in a bid to catch offenders at at least one site, and is committed to cutting the number of bridge strikes countrywide by 25%.
A Bridge Strike Prevention Group, which includes representatives from Rai1track, the Railway Inspectorate, the Department of the Environment, Transport, and the Regions (DETR), and the road transport industry, meets twice a year.
Extensive repairs
The Victorians built their bridges to last, but not to withstand being walloped by 38tonners, so extensive repairs may be required when it happens. The railway track and signalling equipment will have to be inspected by engineers, and may need repairing too, and this could mean that trains will have to be slowed or stopped altogether.
"A single occurrence could affect a hundred trains," says a Rai1track spokesman.
The vehicle involved will undoubtedly suffer serious damage, possibly including damage to its cargo.
More serious than any material loss is the worry that the driver of a truck that ploughs into a bridge and any passengers he is carrying may be killed or injured. Other road users are at risk too, as are rail passengers if a bridge strike isn't reported and a train is derailed.
The DETR says that all bridges lower than 16ft 6in (5.03m) must bear signs giving their height. There should be warning signs on approach roads too.
Some bridges that have been struck repeatedly are now protected by signs that are turned on when an overheight vehicle breaks a detector beam, adds the DETR, but these are expensive to erect. Trials of signs painted on to the carriageway itself are now being undertaken at several locations in London to see if they have any effect.
The roads authorities have no power to put up height gantries on bridge approach roads, says the DETR spokesman, although collision protection beams can be installed as part of the bridge stri cture. In the department's view, their value is limited because they can do almost as much damage to a truck or bus as the bridge itself.
"Lighter weight beams can always be used, but they give way very easily, and there's always the danger that they will be knocked down and cause injury to pedestrians," says a department spokesman.
Signs and protection beams aren't enough on their own, alas. Nor apparently is the prospect of being prosecuted for careless driving, or being sued by the bridge owner for the cost of repairs.
The Highways Agency points out that the low entrance to the northbound Blackwall Tunnel in London is highlighted by warning signs and lights, and hanging rods. However drivers of overheight trucks believe they can still squeeze through, despite all the evidence to the contrary. It used to be the case that they had to reverse the vehicle 400 yards— assuming it was driveable—to escape the consequences of their actions. The result was chaos in the rush hour.
Now, however, a £250,000 escape ramp has been built, which should lessen the disruption to traffic.
Most low bridges span local roads, where signs are the responsibility of the local authority. The Highways Agency is responsible for them on motorways and major trunk roads.
Don McIntyre, head of highways and traffic at the Freight Transport Association, says that councils in particular must ensure that roadside vegetation and overhanging branches don't obscure signage.
But signs are of little use if the driver has no idea how high his truck is.
Since 1 October 1997 every truck more than 3m high has had to be fitted with a prominent notice in the cab indicating the overall travelling height of the vehicle, its load, or equipment in feet and inches, or in feet, inches and metres.
Alternatively, drivers may carry documents which indicate the route which they should follow to avoid any risk of hitting a bridge or other overhead obstruction. The operator must take into account the possibility that drivers may be diverted off the usual route. And the AA has produced a road atlas in conjunction with the Road Haulage Association and the Freight Transport Association marking all low bridges on A and B roads.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) says any operator using route planning software should ensure it takes into account any low bridges, and routes trucks away from them. It believes transport managers have a major role to play in this area, especially if they are sending drivers on the same route daily with loads of differing heights.
Elevated height
Grabs, cranes, and even tipper bodies have been known to strike bridges. Since 1 April all new trucks fitted with powered equipment with an elevated height of more than 3m must also be fitted with a warning device— an in-cab light and buzzer—to alert the driver if it isn't properly stowed when he drives away.
All vehicles with such equipment first used after 1 April 1993 must have a device by 1 October this year (although Welford Truck Bodies points out that this retrofit requirement does not affect tippers). There are exemptions if the grab, etc, can be locked down when the truck is in motion, or if the driver has documents showing the route he is proposing to follow avoids overhead obstructions.
"There are still operators out there who are not aware of the change in legislation, though," says Doug Dyson, chairman of the Association of Lorry Loader Manufacturers & Importers (ALLMI). He doubts that the authorities will stop trucks that may require a warning system to check to see if it or other arrangements are in place, but points out that its absence would tell against a truck owner and driver involved in a bridge bashing incident. "And drivers have been known to stick chewing gum in buzzers because they don't like them sounding, believe it or not;' he remarks.
Ely, Cambridgeshire-based Lorry Loaders says warning kits can be mounted for .C350. Fitment usually takes from three to threeand-a-half hours, adds director, Dale PeBatt.
He's mailed all his customers and about 25% of them have had kits installed by his company. "Others may have had the work done elsewhere," he observes.
If you're not sure how high your truck is, then Knight Lock Systems produces a simple height checking kit under the Right Height
banner (available to readers of Commercial Motor at the special price of £21.50 including postage, packing and VAT—tel 01308 863888 for further details) which means drivers don't have to climb all over their trucks to obtain the correct measurements.
L by Steve Banner INSURE YOURSELF The possibility of a sizeable claim being lodged against the owner of a bridge-bashing truck by RaiItrack means that adequate liability cover is important, says Russell Jones, broking manager at FTA Insurance Services. He advises at least £5411, adding that there is a strong argument for even higher cover levels. "RaiItrack and municipal authorities are becoming much more defensive about their legal positions," Jones continues. Demolish a sign or a traffic bollard, never mind a bridge, and the council will send you a bill if your truck can be identified. "And vehicles are often caught by high street security cameras." he says.
Jeff McMahon, commercial property claims manager at Eagle Star. says that while it would be possible for Redneck to lodge a successful claim against a haulier for the cost of repairing or replacing a damaged bridge, rails, and signalling equipment, a successful daim for any revenue losses sustained or penalty payments made to train operators because the bridge couldn't be used would be unlikely. "They wouldn't be sustainable under UK law," he says.
Concern that some experienced drivers with good records still run into dearly-marked low bridges or tunnel portals is prompting some experts to wonder whether there may be psychological reasons for their actions. David Rogers, road safety adviser at RoSPA, is in favour of all drivers undergoing psychometric testing before a licence is granted.