Many have challenged The Bridge...all have failed:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3c0_1351184890
Hugo - High-Fives Bridge!
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3c0_1351184890
Hugo - High-Fives Bridge!
Undefeated - The Toughest Bridge in the World
- Thread starter Hugo Rune
- Start date
I don't know why, but that was way more entertaining than it had any right to be. The Rocky music certainly helped.I'll grant that the drivers are being incredibly stupid here, and that it's their fault, but if it's this frequent a problem there's got to be a solution. Maybe digging out a gradual dip in the road, building a detour road for trucks to pass over the tracks, or (least expensively) putting up an overhanging post with a sign hanging down from it well ahead of the bridge, and if your truck hits the sign a loud alarm goes off telling you that you're not going to make it. That might not deter every idiot, but it would hopefully deter at least the people who slowed down a bit before going under.
I know people are going to say it's nanny statism, but even if you don't care about protecting the idiots, there is some responsibility to the other motorists on the road who have to deal with the hazard of falling debris or rapidly stopping trucks, not to mention that this probably does weaken the bridge gradually.
Luckily none of the trucks actually hit the bridge. There's an I beam infront of the bridge by a foot or so.
I couldn't get the LiveLeak vid to work, but found another clip with different music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj8Bkn9kaLE
That footage is way too entertaining to watch.
I'm not sure if this is the case here, but in many instances of this type of accident involving commercial trucks what happens is that the city (county, state) comes through and repaves the road, thereby reducing the actual clearance of the bridge, but then neglects to change the signage on the bridge to reflect the lower clearance. The driver knows his truck requires 11' 6", sees the sign that says 11' 8", and thinks he has enough clearance when in reality the bridge is at 11' 5" now.
I'm not sure if this is the case here, but in many instances of this type of accident involving commercial trucks what happens is that the city (county, state) comes through and repaves the road, thereby reducing the actual clearance of the bridge, but then neglects to change the signage on the bridge to reflect the lower clearance. The driver knows his truck requires 11' 6", sees the sign that says 11' 8", and thinks he has enough clearance when in reality the bridge is at 11' 5" now.
Looks to me like the flashing yellow light is a high-tech version of that.
We had something similar here in town when I was a kid: way before getting to the low bridge, a beam of light between a lamp and a photosensitive transistor would be broken by a lorry taller than the clearance of the bridge - this would then start flashing lights on a sign and a klaxon.
That's pretty funny.
I can guess why it happens so frequently. Most low bridges are flagged as such because they're too low to allow the particularly high-sided trucks through. They do freqeuently have enough space to allow normal sized trucks and buses through. For example, in teh UK, any bridge lower than about 16'-ish gets a warning label. But that's still plenty high enough for many pretty tall vehicles to get through. So I suspect a lot of drivers get blase about "low bridge ahead" signs and don't read the height measurement carefully, especially if they drive past it quickly. Still stupid, in the grand scheme of things, but quasi-understandable, I suppose.
Plus, I suspect a lot of drivers will simply be following what their satnav tells them, without really thinking.
I can guess why it happens so frequently. Most low bridges are flagged as such because they're too low to allow the particularly high-sided trucks through. They do freqeuently have enough space to allow normal sized trucks and buses through. For example, in teh UK, any bridge lower than about 16'-ish gets a warning label. But that's still plenty high enough for many pretty tall vehicles to get through. So I suspect a lot of drivers get blase about "low bridge ahead" signs and don't read the height measurement carefully, especially if they drive past it quickly. Still stupid, in the grand scheme of things, but quasi-understandable, I suppose.
Plus, I suspect a lot of drivers will simply be following what their satnav tells them, without really thinking.
Very funny video, but if it happens that often, I suppose it could be seen as a design flaw. There's plenty of warnings on the bridge, but apparently it must be just a bit lower than what's standard for bridges, eh?
I doubt that there is a standrad height for bridges. It would depend on the local topography as to the height of the bridge. Sure on things like motorways/highways etc.. there might be a minimum height for a bridge.
But height is just like width in many respects. If you where driving your car down a narrow road with only an inch or so clearence to the side would you go and full speed or slow down. Most of drivers in the video (even if the warning sign was out by an inch) didn't appear to even slow down.
But height is just like width in many respects. If you where driving your car down a narrow road with only an inch or so clearence to the side would you go and full speed or slow down. Most of drivers in the video (even if the warning sign was out by an inch) didn't appear to even slow down.
If you follow the links through you can find a youtube video where the bridge was measured and it came in 11' 10.8"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5BhSa3A0sk&list=UUXX0RWOIBjt4o3ziHu-6a5A&index=18&feature=plcp
Similar threads
