Low Bridges

[Speedy]

Truck driving USED to be an honorable profession staffed by PROFESSIONAL drivers. That ceased to be decades ago. These days, almost anybody with a pulse is allowed to drive big rigs. For all those unprofessional drivers, the thought of doing a thorough pre-check before hitting the road is an alien concept. The Rand McNally Motor Carriers' Road Atlas is the "bible" used by true professional drivers as a primary resource used in planning a safe route. There are LOTS of "electronic aids" available today for drivers but, a professional driver does NOT solely rely on such "aids" as many (most?) have "critical flaws" in the information the supply. I suspect the lawyers hobble said electronic aids in an attempt to mitigate corporate liability. The result is often that, a tall commercial vehicle (or RV) "meeting" a low clearance with dire consequences. Add in the fact that MANY of today's "regular" drivers have NO clue regarding "sharing the road"; a recipe for disaster.

Commercial drivers have never been more professional. And more drug free. And better educated than ever. And more highly regulated by the government and the carriers. And they drive better and newer trucks. And have fewer accidents per mile driven than ever. Also, I don’t know of any drivers who don’t do a fairly thorough pre-check because they know how often they are likely to be inspected and fined. Add in that any violations in your car count against your commercial drivers license, they can mount up quickly resulting in mandatory time off. Violations stay on your record going back, IIRC, to 1973.

Decades ago it was not uncommon that drivers had sixth grade educations, used uppers and downers, kept multiple log books, had licenses from multiple states and drove junk trucks. Now e-logs are mandatory, equipment violations are as serious as moving violations and health cards are much harder to fake. Today’s drivers are businesspeople, not cowboys.

[hal]

Truckers get a bad rap imo. Sure, sometimes one does something stupid, dangerous, crazy, but EVERY DAY that I drive, i see truckers making very smart moves to avoid very stupid cars. At least 100-1 of brilliant vs stupid - that's WAY higher than the ratio for auto drivers

Speedy wrote:

Truck driving USED to be an honorable profession staffed by PROFESSIONAL drivers. That ceased to be decades ago. These days, almost anybody with a pulse is allowed to drive big rigs. For all those unprofessional drivers, the thought of doing a thorough pre-check before hitting the road is an alien concept. The Rand McNally Motor Carriers' Road Atlas is the "bible" used by true professional drivers as a primary resource used in planning a safe route. There are LOTS of "electronic aids" available today for drivers but, a professional driver does NOT solely rely on such "aids" as many (most?) have "critical flaws" in the information the supply. I suspect the lawyers hobble said electronic aids in an attempt to mitigate corporate liability. The result is often that, a tall commercial vehicle (or RV) "meeting" a low clearance with dire consequences. Add in the fact that MANY of today's "regular" drivers have NO clue regarding "sharing the road"; a recipe for disaster.

Commercial drivers have never been more professional. And more drug free. And better educated than ever. And more highly regulated by the government and the carriers. And they drive better and newer trucks. And have fewer accidents per mile driven than ever. Also, I don’t know of any drivers who don’t do a fairly thorough pre-check because they know how often they are likely to be inspected and fined. Add in that any violations in your car count against your commercial drivers license, they can mount up quickly resulting in mandatory time off. Violations stay on your record going back, IIRC, to 1973.

Decades ago it was not uncommon that drivers had sixth grade educations, used uppers and downers, kept multiple log books, had licenses from multiple states and drove junk trucks. Now e-logs are mandatory, equipment violations are as serious as moving violations and health cards are much harder to fake. Today’s drivers are businesspeople, not cowboys.

[Mr Downtown]

Chicago is full of viaducts built between 1890 and 1920. Many, many have less than 12 feet of clearance, and some under 11 feet. About 15 years ago, this was a constant issue for me as a tour guide, as some of the over-the-road motor coach companies had bought Prevost buses that needed 12-3 or more. Luckily, more modern buses don't typically need more than 11-8 or so.

A couple of years ago, an interesting issue came up near O'Hare, where they were relocating some railroad tracks and for some reason had to temporarily reduce an overpass to 12-6. Newspaper reports say multiple signs were posted, but a dozen trucks in the first 24 hours hit the bridge—which of course the previous day had offered perfectly adequate clearance.

[Speedy]

Chicago is where I topped a trailer. The sign showed I had plenty of clearance - before they repaved.

[mikebw]

That early-warning device with the hanging pipes is great. I had thought of a similar idea for the infamous 11'8" bridge, but mine would have had a horizontal pipe suspended in a similar manner. That way even a narrow antenna or other protrusion would strike it, before getting to the bridge.

[NewtonMP2100]

....what about the bridges......over......troubled....waters....???