Yet another bridge strike

[somersetlever]

http://www.dsfire.gov.uk/News/Newsd...dentID=21431&siteCategoryId=3&T1ID=26&T2ID=41

Incident - Lorry collided with railway bridge

Date: 12/08/2012
Time: 17:53
Location: Beam Bridge, Sampford Arundel
Area: Somerset
County: Somerset

he Fire Service received a report from Police of a lorry and crane involved in a collision with a railway bridge at the above location.

One appliance from Wellington was sent.

Crews are currently assessing the area and have requested Network Rail place a caution on the line for oncoming trains. A Network Rail structural engineer is also in attendance assessing the damage to the bridge.

Fire crews have also requested the use of the telephone interpreter service to assist in communicating effectively with the foreign driver of the lorry.

Crews are currently standing by and ensuring the scene is safe.

Incident ongoing.....

Final details at 19:41 - Full blockade placed on the line by Network Rail, lorry and crane removed from under bridge, duty of care left with Network Rail.

Should all signs be displayed in metres as they are in Europe or should we keep our Feet and inches?? Or even both? But saying that, surely nobody could mis-read a sign saying 14 feet for one meaning 14 metres expecially when the bridge is in front of them? Could they???

 

[ushawk]

We cant do anything about drivers not reading clear signs and/or not taking note of the height of their vehicle.

 

[boing_uk]

As a traffic engineer I do not like the combined signs that we have in this country - they should be completely separate in terms of units of measurement.

Yes, it adds another sign to the inventory, but IMO, height, width, length and weight restrictions should be the clearest as they can possibly be. Stuffing multiple lines of information on to a sign 750mm high/round that is legible in half a second isnt the best idea DfT traffic section have ever had.

 

[jopsuk]

We should have completed the full metrication of the country years ago, not done the half-@rsed job that left us using imperial for roads

 

[gordonthemoron]

I was somewhere in Eastern Europe earlier this year, may have been Romania, and there were steel beams positioned at bridge height some distance either side of the bridge so any over height vehicle would hit these first

 

[maniacmartin]

I was somewhere in Eastern Europe earlier this year, may have been Romania, and there were steel beams positioned at bridge height some distance either side of the bridge so any over height vehicle would hit these first

They exist on some major roads in the UK too (or at least used to), but with chains hanging down to the height of the bridge, so the drivers can hear the chains clanging and safely stop rather than smashing into a steel beam! They do seem to be quite rare now - perhaps they're being phased out.

My sketchy memory recalls them beings on the A619 at the Robin Hood Line bridge, although I can't find it on Google Street View

 

[gordonthemoron]

yes I know, seen them round Nottingham, e.g. Plumtree. However the ones I saw in Eastern Europe would actually cause a collision with the beam itself

 

[Oswyntail]

Given the quality of the drivers involved, i suspect the signs should all be in braille

 

[OuterDistant]

The ones with chains are a good idea! The ones where they're beams are a terrible solution - there are plenty of clips on YouTube of lorries demolishing them, and it's a damn good job there were no passing pedestrians, or they'd have been horribly injured.

 

[broadgage]

Whilst clearer signs might help, I feel that those guilty of striking bridges are treated unduly leniently by the courts.

Not knowing the height of ones vehicle, and/or not reading or understanding the signs is gross negilgence and should be severly punished.

What would happen to a train driver who drove into a terminus at speed and caused a destructive accident ? Unless there was some truly exceptional extenuating circumstances, they would probably never drive a train again, and might well be imprisioned.

A truck driver who strikes a bridge would normaly pay a modest fine and carry on driving.

At the very least, those who drive into bridges (or more realistivly their insurers) should be made to pay the full costs.
Including but not limited to,
Police time
Court time, costs, fees and expenses
Surveyors time and expeneses.
Bridge repair costs.
Delay minutes caused to passengers
Additional compensation to passengers if the delay is more than say 2 hours.

That would be expensive, and would result in haulage firms and their insurers paying more attention to skills and previous record of truck drivers.

 

[YorkshireBear]

Would it not be cheaper in the long term to fit these chains to prevent bridge damage and NR compensation to operators.

 

[Oswyntail]

Would it not be cheaper in the long term to fit these chains to prevent bridge damage and NR compensation to operators.

Probably.
In most other walks of life, however, if vast amounts of money were to be spent trying to prevent something happening that require the perpetrator to be a class 1 numpty, we would moan about "Health and Safety Gone Mad!". For some reason, though, on the roads we let people off lightly. The deterrent from stupid behaviour, or the encouragement to good behaviour, is meant to be the law. But, as has been said, the law reacts to such incidents with little more than a raised eyebrow. Lump bridge strikes in with "criminal damage", "death by dangerous driving" in with manslaughter; make the driver of the vehicle liable for all the costs, and only involve the insurance when the driver has handed over his last bean.
In short, if a driver is not capable of missing a non-moving object he should not be driving - ever!

 

[Cherry_Picker]

I was somewhere in Eastern Europe earlier this year, may have been Romania, and there were steel beams positioned at bridge height some distance either side of the bridge so any over height vehicle would hit these first

Where the A41 crosses beneath the Chiltern mainline at Blackthorn (a mile or so south of Bicester North station) they have this rather impressive setup:

http://goo.gl/maps/6S2pt < laser over height sensor
http://goo.gl/maps/jj6Vg < LED sign which illuminates when something trips the sensor.

There is also a 50 mph speed limit there (down from national speed limit) which is enforced by speed cameras, more signs than you can shake a stick at including a massive one in metric and imperial on the bridge itself. There is a wall built around the base of the bridge so if a vehicle hits anything it will hit the wall and the bridge will remain undamaged and I also believe that they lowered the road beneath the bridge by a couple of feet. It must have been a hell of an expensive job, but it turned one of the most often struck bridges on the network into one which has had little or no trouble since the work was completed.

 

[Pumbaa]

Where the A41 crosses beneath the Chiltern mainline at Blackthorn (a mile or so south of Bicester North station) they have this rather impressive setup:

http://goo.gl/maps/6S2pt < laser over height sensor
http://goo.gl/maps/jj6Vg < LED sign which illuminates when something trips the sensor.

There is also a 50 mph speed limit there (down from national speed limit) which is enforced by speed cameras, more signs than you can shake a stick at including a massive one in metric and imperial on the bridge itself. There is a wall built around the base of the bridge so if a vehicle hits anything it will hit the wall and the bridge will remain undamaged and I also believe that they lowered the road beneath the bridge by a couple of feet. It must have been a hell of an expensive job, but it turned one of the most often struck bridges on the network into one which has had little or no trouble since the work was completed.

The Chertsey Road underneath the Staines - Reading line also has this setup, works brilliantly.

 

[jopsuk]

The A30 used to have something similar where it passed under the Newquay Branch (before that section was upgraded). they kept having to add to it- i think by the end they had three sets of sensors/lights, and the final set had sirens too. Still wasn't 100% effective.

 

[Oswyntail]

The A30 used to have something similar where it passed under the Newquay Branch (before that section was upgraded). they kept having to add to it- i think by the end they had three sets of sensors/lights, and the final set had sirens too. Still wasn't 100% effective.

Well there are some pretty effective missiles that are no longer needed in East London....

 

[jopsuk]

ha- they changed the road layout entirely when they dualed it, I think the road now goes over the railway?

 

[CarltonA]

An ex-policeman told me an anecdote about a bridge strike: Lorry stuck under bridge & various officials standing around wondering how to remove said vehicle which was stuck fast. Passing nine year old girl says = why don't you let down the tyres? Oohh, never thought of that they said. It worked apparently.

 

[OxtedL]

Orpington:
http://goo.gl/maps/BDqyT
http://goo.gl/maps/Uh9ZK

Reads "Overheight vehicle turn right".

And the other side: http://goo.gl/maps/Xry8j

I think this kind of thing is fairly widespread near strategically important bridges.

 

[richw]

Another bridge strike today, truck hit bridge that is by the former scorrier rail station near Redruth. Road closed all afternoon and evening. Radio Cornwall reporting delayed trains due to a 5mph temp speed limit over the bridge.

 

[Requeststop]

ha- they changed the road layout entirely when they dualed it, I think the road now goes over the railway?

Yes it (The A 30) does go over the railway and much further west than before. The bridge strikes there were always a pain to both rail passengers and the driving public alike. More than a few miles and time added to journeys due to tired and inattentive drivers on the A30.

 

[michael769]

An ex-policeman told me an anecdote about a bridge strike: Lorry stuck under bridge & various officials standing around wondering how to remove said vehicle which was stuck fast. Passing nine year old girl says = why don't you let down the tyres? Oohh, never thought of that they said. It worked apparently.

I suspect an urban myth based upon truth. Deflating tyres is standard operating procedure for extricating a wedged vehicle, so it is hard to see that they would need a passer by to tell them to do the first thing that they would normally try anyway.

 

[CarltonA]

You are probably right, it would have been thought of a long time ago I expect. But people like to have a jest at the expense of others who are not there to contradict them.

 

[WCML]

They have those flashing signs on the A4098 in Tipton either side of the Midland Metro bridge. An efficient method if drivers actually take notice of them.

 

[matchmaker]

What can happen...............................Oyne, 1978

 

[142094]

The laser activated signs are quite good, but the crucial thing is that I believe they have to be placed where a lorry/HGV is able to turn around, which might be a good few miles from the actual bridge when you think about country lanes etc.

Can't see much more being done apart from removing the risk altogether, by either shutting the road or replacing the bridge. Look at the problems we have at level crossings with pedestrians and drivers. In many cases the only answer is to get rid of the level crossing altogether.