Idiot lorry & coach drivers

It was shown on Rude Tube on Channel 4 a couple of weeks ago. It's amazing how many idiots there are.

I thought posting links was ok and long as they are not for commercial products etc.

Hello Redmires

I posted something simiar on here last week but it was very quickly deleted.

Perhaps Richard would clarify for us what links we can and cannot post.

Cheers

Mista H

I'm gonna be a contrarian here.  The bridge was designed without enough clearance.  The road designers are just as much to blame here.

There should be signs and one off those test openings (metal arch with rubber tubes hanging down to warn drivers without skinning their truck tops.

Speed limit should be much lower too ...

I'd agree with you. The videos here seem to be of accidents at the same bridge.

The abiding, rather than momentary, stupidity lies with those with control over the approach.

Unless their job is to compile You Tube videos they might be better getting off their arses and preventing this, obviously, exceptionally low bridge from decapitating pretty normally high vehicles.

If i was driving any high vehicle i would have something in my cab with my vehicles height on it.

These drivers have no COMMON SENSE. If you look at the various video clips their are clear signs showing the bridges height clearance + flashing lights that come on if your lorry is over height. This is just the sort of thing my other half would do,she is an extremely clever person,held a very demanding job in computing for 25 years ,but what she lacks is COMMON SENSE.

Mista h

And given that they have no common sense - would it not be reasonable to take measures to enforce protection against the consequences to them/other road users?

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself."

( + "Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.")

George Bernard Shaw

Having studied Human Factors in the operation of various industrial facilities (nuclear power, fossil power, offshore oil & gas) you have to be careful when designing the 'exceptions'.

I saw at least one rental big truck, so an inexperienced driver, he should have been careful if he was a novice at big vehicles.  However if it was a trucker using a rented vehicle as his regular was being serviced, then the human factors comes in.  The guy may do that route a hundred times per year and never had an issue, so he doesn't even see the sign.

I notice that the same yellow signs are being used as on any bridge.  So no difference between a 11'8" clearance versus 12'8" clearance ?  A different colour should be used for a lower than standard colour, like red/white hatching, multiple yellow lights.  This way a driver will be alerted to an exception.

Also at the approach speeds to the bridge give virtually no reaction time, particularly for a large vehicle to stop (without the obvious help from the bridge !).

As with many things in life, like golf, driving is not done with primary attention, it's done with 'muscle memory' for most of the time.  In this mode, another yellow height sign, which all bridges have will not sufficiently alert the operator to do something different.

So in my opinion, the road designers have failed to properly alert drivers of this hazard.

As for lorry/truck and coach drivers being idiots ... many, many good ones, but too many idiots too.  I remember growing up in the 70's and 80's when bus drivers and lorry drivers were the best and most courteous drivers on the road, now many seem to be dumb ass idiots !!!!

Sorry but i dont buy into any of this Blame The Bridge rubbish.

If i was hiring a strange rental truck i would do a min of 3 things(1) walk round the vehicle to check for any dents,so that you dont get the blame when you return it. (2) check the fuel gauge.if your paying for a full tank you want a full tank.(3)find out the vehicles height from the renter.  Its err COMMON SENSE innit.

Lastly most of the vehicles that hit the bridge were not rental trucks.

Mista h

So all bridges should be rebuilt such that even the highest vehicle driven by the most stupid can pass in safety?

That would not cost much would it and would be quite easy to do.

Industrial systems (a bridge being a form of one) should be designed for use by humans.  All I'm saying is they need a better alert system.  If you have a thousand low bridges, if some have more accidents than others then the bridge and the road heading toward it is a problem.

So if you're heading toward a bridge at say 40 mph, how much reaction time do you think you have to stop ahead of the bridge ?  There should be signs way ahead of the road to offer a diversion and a warning.

Derry, where did I say they need to rebuild all bridges ?  Of course that's a preposterous suggestion.

Use of a rental truck does not imply a driver unaware of the properties of the truck. Quite a few businesses use rental trucks on a permanent or semi permanent basis.

Just like to add that if i was the owner of a firm renting out high sided vehicles i would have stickers made and stuck it every cab making it clear what the height of the vehicle was.

Again not rocket sceince just COMMON SENSE. Likewise if i was the owner of anything high(motorhome etc) i would put a sticker on my dashboard to remind me of the vehicles height.

Mista h

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-e...d-hampshire-21229913

Lucky the bus was out of service,dread to think if the top deck had been full of passengers.

Brainless driver could have killed 30 people,needs sacking.

Mista h

Perhaps the bus driver should be located on the top floor of the bus to give him/her better awareness.

The truly determined would find another way to screw up.

Adam - I agree..but at least the Police are looking in to this, the hole that is.

It is a tad fundamental in my view that whatever you drive, you know if there is a height issue lurking. By any legal definition, not to recognise this, must surely be 'negligent'?

There are enough road signs and if you are going to 'chance it', do it a <5mph rather than usual cruising speed.