Can’t fix stupid? could not decide which to pick
There is an underpass on the Robert Moses Parkway that leads from the Grand Island bridge to Niagara Falls State Park and downtown Niagara Falls. The underpass is slightly less than 13’6" but the State didn’t bother to mark it because commercial vehicles were prohibited and the sign had foot high letters. After the bridge was hit the first time, the clearance was posted. Didn’t stop trucks from getting on the parkway and hitting the bridge.
The usual excuse these days is “I was just following the GPS” .
An apartment complex calls that car-port tunnel syndrome. The upper box on a U-Haul truck hits it twice a year.
There’s a railroad bridge in Liverpool NY on Onondaga Lake Pkwy. There are at least 10 signs, plus warning lights, plus a laser that detects an approaching truck that’s too high, yet trucks still hit it. Hasn’t happened in a while, but it still happens.
don’t look too bad. A little duct tape here and there and it will be back on the road.
After the WalMart trucker used the GPS excuse for hitting our very well marked bridge. I did a little research. There are GPS programs that display dimensional and weight restrictions on the route.
On North Avenue, in Elizabeth, NJ, there is a RR bridge that has an “unconventional” amount of clearance underneath it. I’m tempted to say that it’s something on the order of only 12’5", but my recollection may be wrong.
The problem with truckers ignoring the warning signs for that low bridge has existed for as long as I have been alive, and every few years the size of the warning signs increases. Now, they have added flashing lights to the warning signs, but at least once each month a tractor-trailer will still get wedged in there.
There used to be a joke that related to that type of situation:
Cop: How did you get stuck underneath this bridge?
Trucker: I’m not stuck! I was delivering this bridge and I just ran out of fuel.
For truck drivers, can you buy a GPS that doesn’t use Parkways, and avoids low clearance streets? Seems like a market…
edit, sorry, didn’t see this comment by sgtrock21:
“There are GPS programs that display dimensional and weight restrictions on the route.”
@BillRussell Yes there are GPS’s that @sgtrock21 mentioned but they cost 3 to 4 times what the of the shelf at the big box stores cost.
We have trouble with trucks carrying large equipment and not knowing how high they are or forgetting to lower the boom on the equipment all the way. Bridges are expensive and insurance companies don’t like paying mega bucks for bridge repairs.
Just today, I had a…clearance problem…with a truck, but it was of a different kind.
I was on one of the narrower roads in my area, and that road has no shoulders whatsoever. If everyone keeps as far to the right as possible, then you can squeeze past each other. However, I came very close to having the driver’s side of my Outback damaged by some cretin driving a pickup truck.
This jerk had loaded all kinds of junk into the back of his truck, and something–possibly a pipe–was protruding at least 8 inches on the driver’s side of his cargo box. I very narrowly missed having that object carve a path along the driver’s side of my vehicle.
There a a low railroad underpass here ( 11’6") that countless trucks have plowed into over the years.
Warning signs, flashing lights, large lettering and Lemon yellow paint; it matters not.
A couple of years ago the city painted the underpass on both sides to resemble a shark’s mouth with evil eyes and large teeth. They still smash into it…
My job involved installing equipment is rural farm supply sites. We went to the Lancaster, PA area and i was amazed at some side roads where there were trees 2’ from the road edge. No shoulder. I could stick my arm out window and touch tree. I joked to my boss it was a private drive? Nope. A real 2 lane thru road. Used to be a buggy path and they just throw down some blacktop. We went into some of these towns that were probably 300yrs old and the roads were crazy. Some sections had 6-8’ rises within a 100’ distance. A car would go up and down in front of u and u literally would lose site of it and it was 100’ in front of u. The old towns just pave over the old horse paths? It was like a roller coaster.
Welcome to Pennsyltucky!
The shark bridge in Enid even has its own Facebook page. 
Welcome to my neck of the woods. It’s a ton of fun dealing with some of our “wonderful” roads, especially if you don’t have any experience with them!
Yes, now envision snow and ice and you’ll understand how white knuckle the driving can be. Which is why I bought my first set of winter tires after moving to the east coast. I spent 40+ years in the upper midwest and never felt I needed winter tires…
@Marnet, I didn’t know that video had been put up on that bridge. I note that it’s now 11’4"; probably due to a couple of new inches of asphalt.
What makes this one particularly bad is that while it’s listed at 11’4" the clearance may actually be less than that because there is a short dip under the bridge. A tractor trailer will have the trailer’s rear wheels on a higher part of the roadway and the tractor’s rear wheels on another high point.
https://www.facebook.com/search/str/enid%2Bshark%2Bbridge/keywords_blended_photos
