Halfords 'We Fit' lorry gets stuck under bridge

[PaxVobiscum]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-29514013

A Halfords lorry bearing the "We Fit" logo has got stuck under a railway bridge in Beckenham.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) was called to the scene at about 13:15 BST after the lorry trapped several parked cars on South Eden Park Road.

The LFB tweeted: "Going the 'extra mile' might have been the better option rather than trying to squeeze under a bridge in Beckenham."

Train services on the bridge have been stopped as a result of the incident.

You couldn't make it up.

 

[CarltonA]

I expect the driver's boss will have a wee fit in the morning.

 

[dysonsphere]

Just looked at pics it was never going under the air spoiller on the cab hit first never mind the container behind I feel this a lose licence job.

 

[Yew]

Interference fit?

 

[talltim]

Not as funny, but more dramatic http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-29512618

 

[455driver]

To save our resident road vehicles good, railways bad member bothering-

Its the railways fault for building the bridges too low!

 

[Oswyntail]

Do the road hauliers responsible pay any compensation, and, if so, how much?

 

[Llanigraham]

Do the road hauliers responsible pay any compensation, and, if so, how much?

Lots and lots!!

 

[Nym]

Interference fit?

You know there's probably only four or five people on here who'll get that without googling it...

Funny though

Love the way the trailer has deformed...

 

[PermitToTravel]

Isn't any compensation paid by their insurers?

 

[Statto]

Not Rail related but another Halfords Lorry getting stuck related, this one from a couple of years ago the same truck getting stuck twice going through the same Village.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-12112316

 

[edwin_m]

Isn't any compensation paid by their insurers?

It would be (subject to any excess) but if they're anything like any other insurers they'll bump up next year's premium...

 

[Tim R-T-C]

Feel a bit sorry for Halfords, they are going to take a lot of blame for what is presumably a hired in contractor. It would be like people blaming Tesco for delays if the Tesco container train derails.

Are there a lot more bridge bashes going on at the moment, or is it just being more widely reported thanks to twitter?

Pity that presumably it would come out of Network Rail's budget to implement more sophisticated prevention measures, rather than the highways agency.

 

[Johnny_w]

We got hit twice in the same year (2014)

Previous to that I can't think of *any*

Now the bridge has 5ft high signage... so far so good... But it does seem more wide-spread!

JW

 

[Antman]

Just looked at pics it was never going under the air spoiller on the cab hit first never mind the container behind I feel this a lose licence job.

The unit got under, the bridge is 15ft 3', unfortunately the double deck trailer is 16ft plus

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Out of interest, why would the train services going over the bridge have been stopped? It doesn't look to me from the picture or the description as if the lorry being stuck should have any impact on anything going on top of the bridge.

 

[petersi]

Out of interest, why would the train services going over the bridge have been stopped? It doesn't look to me from the picture or the description as if the lorry being stuck should have any impact on anything going on top of the bridge.

In case there was damage that could effect the structural integrity of the bridge. It will be closed until inspected.

 

[najaB]

It doesn't look to me from the picture or the description as if the lorry being stuck should have any impact on anything going on top of the bridge.

Are you willing to gamble the lives of dozens (or hundreds) of people on "Uhm, looks alright should be fine"?

 

[carriageline]

Out of interest, why would the train services going over the bridge have been stopped? It doesn't look to me from the picture or the description as if the lorry being stuck should have any impact on anything going on top of the bridge.

To put it simply, most bridges have a classification. This (I think) is decided on things like what the bridge is made of, what type etc. This classification denotes to the signaller what happens when it is struck. Certain bridges can run normally with no limits (green), some with lower speed limits (Amber double amber) and some completely stop the job (red).

As a signaller, when we get told something has hit the bridge (providing it's not a green bridge) we stop the job and take appropriate action. Sitting miles away we don't know the damage to the bridge, plus we are not qualified to examine it.

That's where the Bridge Strike Nominee (normally the network rail incident response team member) or Bridge Strike Examiner (normally some kind of structural engineer) gets sent out to examine the bridge. They then tell us how to then deal with trains over the bridge.

Of course, sometimes no serious damage is done and we can then run normally, but we don't know that. You can't run trains over the bridge unexamined incase serious damage has been done.




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[DynamicSpirit]

Ah, that makes sense, thanks for the explanation.

 

[dysonsphere]

The unit got under, the bridge is 15ft 3', unfortunately the double deck trailer is 16ft plus

Er thats a standard ISO container on a flatbed and other pics show the air dam on the unit damaged, that might be due to the tipping of unit.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Out of interest, why would the train services going over the bridge have been stopped? It doesn't look to me from the picture or the description as if the lorry being stuck should have any impact on anything going on top of the bridge.

There have been a few cases over the years where a bridge deck has been completly removed by an impact. IT IN DOUBT STOP EVERYTHING

 

[Antman]

That is not a container it is a double deck trailer and they are about 16ft high

 

[carriageline]

Er thats a standard ISO container on a flatbed and other pics show the air dam on the unit damaged, that might be due to the tipping of unit.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---




There have been a few cases over the years where a bridge deck has been completly removed by an impact. IT IN DOUBT STOP EVERYTHING

There's no if in doubt about it, the rules are very specific on how to deal with bridges. No one apart from the people I quoted earlier are in a position to do anything


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Not Rail related but another Halfords Lorry getting stuck related, this one from a couple of years ago the same truck getting stuck twice going through the same Village.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-12112316

My wife and I remember this incident in the Beddgelert region very well, as we had taken a New Year break in 2011 at the Bryn Eglwys Country House Hotel in the Beddgelert environs and it occurred during our 10 day stay there. Doesn't time fly as I did not join this website until the April of 2011.

We must be fated to experience similar North Wales "disasters", as my wife and I were on a train on the first day of operation of the Welsh Highland Railway from Caernarfon to Dinas on a Friday in September 1998, when on the return journey, the train struck a tractor being driven by a youth into a garden centre across the road crossing, leaving the tractor in two distinct parts.

 

[edwin_m]

I was waiting for a train at Grantham last week when the bridge just north of the station was struck. Going by the announcements it happened only just before my train was due, and it finally left 15min late so the incident was managed effectively.

According to a member of station staff this bridge is hit so frequently that it has girders attached each side, so presumably just a case of checking that the damage is confined to the girders not the actual bridge. However another bridge nearby was damaged by a recent impact and has been designated red so any further impact would need all trains to be stopped until a thorough examination was completed.

 

[jopsuk]

Er thats a standard ISO container on a flatbed and other pics show the air dam on the unit damaged, that might be due to the tipping of unit.

That is not a container it is a double deck trailer and they are about 16ft high

There's two stories that have been posted. One of the Halfords lorry, which is a double deck trailer and the cab roof is undamaged. There's a second one from Norfolk where the cargo was a container on a flat bed, where the airdam has been damaged when the lorry has tipped (thus just one corner dinged). You're both right about two different lorries!

 

[bnsf734]

Halfords trucks are operated by DHL so it is DHL's driver or sub-contractor at fault. The Renault unit is not one of their normal ones so it may have been either hired in or driven by a sub-contractor.

 

[Bald Rick]

The bridge in question near West Wickham is constructed of iron (not even steel) and thus more liable to movement, deformation and fracture than a steel or masonry bridge. It is therefore classified as 'Red' and traffic must be stopped in the event of a strike. As with all red bridge strikes, a competent person is required to inspect the underside of the bridge for damage before reopening to rail traffic. Unfortunately, in this case, the lorry was still in the way, so that inspection could not be completed until if was removed.

 

[starrymarkb]

There does seem to be an increase in these double deck trailers - they are fine on the Motorway but in town with low trees and bridges they seem to be a liability

Also it's scary passing one in a strong crosswind!

 

[Tetchytyke]

Now the bridge has 5ft high signage... so far so good... But it does seem more wide-spread!

It depends if the driver has the necessary language skills to read the signage, doesn't it...