I Hit A Bridge

Sue and I talked about the 13 6 near Joliet on US 30. Gave me heart palpitations the first time and I checked the atlas. So I totally feel your pain.

After the last hurricane a road was repaved and the 13 6 in NC became 13 3. Thank god I saw that sign way ahead of time. The 2017 atlas did not have the nsew clearance.

Was this marked in the atlas?

And Ryan, keep in mind that trucks have gotten bigger and bigger. The further east you go, the older the bridges and lower. Heck, Brooklyn bridge is like 100 years old when horses were used lol

I have a big problem with old truck stops that were obviously made for shorter trailers. Buy more land and give us wider aisles so we don't take a fender with us when we pull out.

There's a steel mill we pick up from that has a few 12'7 bridges before the entrance. I literally ducked going under there. Chicago has so many of them and it's usually a pain to get back to the interstates if you get off them in certain areas.

Sue and I talked about the 13 6 near Joliet on US 30. Gave me heart palpitations the first time and I checked the atlas. So I totally feel your pain.

After the last hurricane a road was repaved and the 13 6 in NC became 13 3. Thank god I saw that sign way ahead of time. The 2017 atlas did not have the nsew clearance.

Was this marked in the atlas?

And Ryan, keep in mind that trucks have gotten bigger and bigger. The further east you go, the older the bridges and lower. Heck, Brooklyn bridge is like 100 years old when horses were used lol

I have a big problem with old truck stops that were obviously made for shorter trailers. Buy more land and give us wider aisles so we don't take a fender with us when we pull out.

I wouldnt jump to that conclusion so quickly. Lets step back and consult Old School on this matter considering that he was around during the grand opening of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Come Old School! How were the late 1800's?

Unmarked or not, this is an example of exactly why you'll constantly hear folks talk about not trusting GPS. Verify every route with an atlas which will notify bridge height issues in cities like Chicago, NYC etc.

As Errol mentioned, repaving can and has caused a lot of issues, especially in cities like Chicago but the fact remains that proper trip planning should have identified the bridge in question.

Robert says:

the fact remains that proper trip planning should have identified the bridge in question.

Maybe... Even the best trip planning in the world can't help you avoid every low bridge and low weight limit out there. It's very possible that the bridge in question wasn't recorded anywhere.

I agree that he shouldn't have hit it. If you're not sure if you can make it, slow down, put on your flashers and pop your head out the window to get a better idea. If it still looks "iffy" pull the brakes and get out and look. Unmarked bridges irritate the crap out of me (I mean, how hard is it to stick a damn sign on the bridge?), but you can always avoid hitting them.

I recently did one of the big no no's of driving and struck a bridge. It was unmarked and the company GPS led me down the road. There was minimal damage to the truck and I wasn't even cited for it. I was terminated from my position for a preventable accident. I have 1 years experience with an otherwise clean record. Do I have any options or is my career over?

Company GPS, I would think they're at fault

I recently did one of the big no no's of driving and struck a bridge. It was unmarked and the company GPS led me down the road. There was minimal damage to the truck and I wasn't even cited for it. I was terminated from my position for a preventable accident. I have 1 years experience with an otherwise clean record. Do I have any options or is my career over?

Company GPS, I would think they're at fault

The company GPS, and any GPS for that matter, will never be at fault. The driver is the captain of the ship and he decides what to do. If he decides to foolishly follow a computer instead of using his/her brain then he is an accident waiting to happen. And it will happen.

Truckers need to get away from relying so heavily on electronics. We have drivers who have been driving for years that will be like a chicken with its head cut off if you take away their GPS. Its a sad situation.

I recently did one of the big no no's of driving and struck a bridge. It was unmarked and the company GPS led me down the road. There was minimal damage to the truck and I wasn't even cited for it. I was terminated from my position for a preventable accident. I have 1 years experience with an otherwise clean record. Do I have any options or is my career over?

Company GPS, I would think they're at fault

The company GPS, and any GPS for that matter, will never be at fault. The driver is the captain of the ship and he decides what to do. If he decides to foolishly follow a computer instead of using his/her brain then he is an accident waiting to happen. And it will happen.

Truckers need to get away from relying so heavily on electronics. We have drivers who have been driving for years that will be like a chicken with its head cut off if you take away their GPS. Its a sad situation.

Daniel, I get what you're saying. I agree up to a certain extent, but the company is also at fault and should share some of the blame. The "company GPS" routed him to an unmarked bridge. He should have proceeded slowly and stopped if he was unsure, however new drivers are not always going to make the wisest decision. Was he able to back up? Turn around? Who knows, but this attitude that the driver is "ALWAYS to blame " is complete BS. When do the companies accept fault? Especially the smaller ones, they always blame the driver. No representation when you go into those safety meetings after an incident. I am not speaking about myself, but I have 2 buddies that were fired because they were blamed for something that really wasn't their fault.

but this attitude that the driver is "ALWAYS to blame " is complete BS

When a driver hits a bridge the driver is 100% to blame.

When do the companies accept fault?

When a driver hits a bridge the companies never have to accept any fault.

I don't know how to be anymore clear about that. There are no gray areas. You do not drive your truck into a bridge and there is never a reason why it's ok, nor is it anyone else's fault. I understand we all make mistakes so I'm not saying it's not ok that mistakes are made but I am saying it is not ok to place blame elsewhere.

Trucking is not a job anyone should be doing if they aren't ready to assume 100% of the responsibility for their vehicle. Knit quilts if you want to screw up and point fingers. No one cares if yarn unravels. Don't run 80,000 pound big rigs into gigantic steel structures and then start pointing fingers. Unacceptable in my book.

And...the GPS both company and Rand McNally have disclaimers when. You start them "this tool is for guidance" type of stuff.

So can't sue or blame a company when you have to hit accept the disclaimer to start it.

Its the shark bridge that makes me shake my head. How many trucks hit that sucker still.