Two years ago, riding along the South Circular in London, I saw a container lorry that had tried to get under a clearly marked low rail bridge.
The cab got under no problem. The shipping container on the back stopped the lorry dead. The cab then rotated about the hinge used to access the engine, leaving the driver face-to-face with the tarmac with glass sprinkled everywhere, lucky for him he was wearing his seatbelt.
There’s at least one of the cab-over box trucks in the 11foot8 Collection, but the cab didn’t flop forward:
I wonder if The Appliance Center sells can openers?
11 foot 8 is visually deceptive.
In London, Ontario, Canada we have its low rider twin.
It takes a bigger cut.
Systems that aren’t moron-proof have no place in the real world (which has plenty of morons). Given ~1 crash per month the state should fix it, that rate speaks to a poor design.
The FAQ also doesn’t really answer for why it can’t be fixed “The North Carolina Dept. of Transportation maintains the road, but not the signage. I suspect they have much bigger problems to deal with statewide than this bridge.” I translate that as: “no one cares” which is shocking.
I always wonder what happens if a truck gets stuck in the NB I-5 Mercer Street offramp in Seattle. I can’t seem to find a picture but Seattle Boingers will know what I mean.
The offramp is a single lane that descends below freeway level and then enters a tunnel. Anyone who gets to the tunnel and doesn’t fit would have to back up the offramp for at least 1000 feet. With nowhere for traffic behind to go to get out of the way.
Last Friday I went through it and noticed the ivy has grown over the height sign on the tunnel. IDK if there’s an earlier sign; I haven’t noticed one.
I think as long as the tunnel is big enough to accommodate 95% of the trucks then it isn’t an issue. The people driving trucks too tall for that are constantly aware of it and much more careful.
11’8" is a problem because it affects people who don’t normally have to think about their vehicle height.
Translation: prices are gonna go way up at HBS!
Oh please. The real world is chock-full of things which aren’t moron-proof, and anybody who thinks they can make it so that idiots can’t cause trouble for themselves and others is deluding themselves… They’ve put in more than a reasonable effort in warning overheight truck drivers that they’re about to get in trouble. After a certain point, you have to accept that people do in fact have responsibility for themselves, and that if they are idiots, they will sometimes face unpleasant consequences.
I’ve noticed that some countries seem less willing to idiot-proof things as well. I’ve sometimes watched cab-view videos of Norway’s railways, and the engineers don’t lay on the horn over there. You get just one horn blast about 500 m from the crossing or station platform, at the whistle post, and that’s it (barring any idiots, which I haven’t seen in said videos).
If you read the FAQ, it states that over-height trucks often need to approach right up to the bridge and then turn left or right. They would all trip the sensor. They’re also what prevents the simpler, more obvious solution of just putting a bump bar a half block before the intersection.
So you want everyone on that road to have their time wasted and stuck in the left hand lanes as a solution to this problem? This is a dangerous as hell idea. First off people get impatient when waiting too long, so that’s going to increase the number of people blowing the light. Then there will be spillover.
Traffic will back up as more people try to cross, spilling into other roads, blocking them until you get some localized gridlock. And this won’t stop a good chunk of the bridge strikes, plenty of trucks blow the light already.
I commend many of the drivers recorded here for their excellent in car musical taste, and their fine command of the English vernacular!
Hah yea it’s much better with sound on, both for the music and the language…
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