★★★ *FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE VIDEO / FACT UPDATES* ★★★ *1) North Carolina Law requires a height clearance of 13'6"* - However, this bridge was built in 1940 and is NOT in violation because it was built prior to the current height standard. At the time of Its construction, it met all applicable criteria. The current standard cannot be applied retroactively, and re-building the bridge would be too costly. Lowering the road is also not an option due to a sewer line under it. *2) Why not just lower the road* - The reason the road cannot be lowered is because there are sewer lines and water pipes below the roads surface, and the council could not lower the roads surface any further. Also if they wanted move the pipes, it would cost millions of dollars and will cause important utilities to be shut down for weeks or even months. So it’s not practical. *3) Why not lower the bridge, to make it obvious a truck won't fit through* - For the same reason they have never raised the bridge, because the railroad company does not have to, they are legally within their rights not to raise or lower the bridge. Also a lot of traffic uses that bridge, it would cause more problems re-routing all that traffic that can still *JUST* fit under it. *4) Why not just close the road, so no one can go through* - Well maybe because most small trucks, buses & RV’s still do fit under the bridge, that the council did not want to interfere with re-routing all that traffic, just because 1 truck a month does not pay attention to warning signs, and crashes into the guard rail. *5) Why not just ban trucks past a certain height from using that bridge* - Ok seems like a good idea, how will you inform all the random trucks using that bridge of that ban, will you use a sign stating the ban? I assume you will put that sign near the bridge somewhere, maybe right next to the BIG FLASHING SIGN saying "OVERHEIGHT MUST TURN" because obviously the truck drivers are reading all the signs at the bridge, right? *6) What happens to all the metal parts that break off the trucks* - Jürgen Henn, the owner of the youtube channel Yovo68, picks up pieces of metal from Truck Accidents and sells them on his website, along with T-Shirts, now this man is an entrepreneur. *7) Waste of time and money raising the bridge only 8 inches* - The main purpose of raising of the bridge another 8 inches, was to level out the 8-inch grade difference between the level crossing down the road and the bridge itself. The increased road clearance was only a side-effect of the project, its primary purpose was to level the grade of the tracks so the trains did not have to slow down and can run more efficiently. *8) Waste of tax payers money, the government did not raise the bridge high enough* - This was not a tax funded upgrade, the bridge is owned by the railroad and they paid to raise the bridge for their own benefit, not for the publics benefit. *9) Why can't drivers read the signs* - One viewer wrote this "I live in that region. Another big reason are there are a lot Spanish-speaking drivers who can't read English (no joke). Its a travesty and makes other people unsafe." *10) Absolute idiots, how do they not know the clearance of their vehicles* - about 30 years ago I rented a medium box truck to move house, I rented the truck but I had a friend drive, as I did not know how to drive a manual, but it never occurred to me to know the height of the truck when I rented it, but then again we did not have any bridges to go under on the trip. *11) Where is the bridge located* - *"Norfolk Southern-Gregson Street Overpass"* Between W. Peabody and S. Pettigrew Streets and crossroad S. Gregson Street downtown Durham, NC
@@Bibibosh Thanks so much Bibi, appreciate the positive feedback, glad you liked it. I thought for sure I went a little overboard on this video, going 8 minutes long, but I had to recover all the points everyone seems to focus on. But I think it came out ok.
Regarding point 1) When my home province mandated clearance heights, it was in response to bridges like this one. There was no exceptions made for how old it was. Regarding point 2) You say "...move the pipes...", what do you mean by that? Move them how? Alternatively, most water and sewer systems are laid out with diversions for flow management, aka they are lying about the problems to be lazy. Yeah, fixing a mess has to happen at some point, no matter how far down the road you want to kick that can. Regarding point 5) At a couple of points you speak on "drivers not reading the signs", those signs are right at the bridge and right at the intersection. That is too late when driving in the middle of traffic. Finally, the rail company proved it could do something with the bridge, and the city traffic could withstand the closure of that bridge for weeks to months. This also appears to be a place of major traffic which necessitates the correcting of the clearance height for the bridge, the cost of doing so be damned. The sewer and water lines were all redone where I live, the project is taking a lot of time but it is getting done, and it won't have to get redone for a great many years outside of general maintenance. I still had both water and sewer the entire time with only one outage that took a couple of hours as they were changing valves. There are literally no excuses for this bridge.
Honestly, I'd say it's better now. It's a lot more satisfying to see the entire roof get shredded, instead of making it just half way through before getting snagged.
After doing a lot of math, hacking into IBM's Summit supercomputer and letting it to the calculations I believe I have come up with a solution. Close the f**cking road. Obviously raising it and putting up all the warning devices cannot cure stupid.
My favorite was the driver who prudently stopped, opened his door, and carefully eye-balled the clearance and the box on his truck, decided it would fit ... and then collided with the bridge!
His goobrosity will forever be remembered as that one guy who did the right thing but he was still too much of a dingleberry to not bonk his truck on a bridge.
This is in the city that I grew up in, and I can tell you that the warnings near the bridge are only the LAST warnings. There are several more before you even get to the block before this intersection. This bridge has been a source of local entertainment since I was a child.
no leo , the purpose is a lot more noble than just protecting the bridge . the purpose is to skim trucks ( like the original comment said ) .. to serve trucks like a super advanced instantaneous AND free of charge pitstop for tunning trucks instantly ,, or like a drive-trough of preparations BEFORE going smoothly and happily ever after under the bridge thinking "i'm so super-happy and grateful for not even touching the god-damned bridge AND for that completely free skimmer . thank you god , i was so close destroying my truck with that bridge " . and not only that , but after that free modification next time you know that speeding trough it's better like pulling a nose hair (not counting the after-tears) and only laugh at that height limit sign as if it's there only for the newbies and not for the already verified skimmed trucks ...the veterans ...the pioneers .
Y'all are crazy to think these company dont make these drivers drive there trucks back to the company shops/yard haha family dispatcher had a guy rip his roof off his truck in the north east had to bring it back to Texas lucky for him he had an empty trailer or he would be delivering it before he could have came back.
I was wondering why more people didn’t comment on that! Some were several seconds after the light turned and the cross traffic started advancing. Several of these a holes were driving very fast too trying to beat the light. Imagine they t bone a car and kill people? They deserve to have some vehicle damage
Honestly, I'm not all that surprised that there seems to be a correlation between people who run the red and people who don't notice (or ignore) the height warning...
Indeed. that guard rail will last for a couple of hundred years with the current height - sparing the railroad Co. further maintenance. Unless of course there is a change in the legal height for containers . In summary -the railroad engineers got it just right. Before trucks were stopped and jammed up the road for hours - now the driver goes straight through and likely gets fired at the destination. A Legendary fix !! :-))
I really think that two things need to be added to the bridge area: 1. Electronic sign on the other side of the bridge saying "We told you that you were too tall" 2. Truck silhouettes painted on the side of the crash beam, like WWII fighter kills.
I visited a National Forest once that did something similar. Under a sign that said "all pets must be leashed" was a sign that said, "Score so far this season: Dogs 0, Predators 3."
My idea: have a metal bar/pool noodle hanging in the air, same height as the bridge, ahead of the intersection. When a truck that's too tall hits that bar, first the bar bangs on the roof which alerts the driver and it should trigger an alarm or a voice that screams "short bridge ahead, redirect your truck". They should also use a red triangle and flashing lights with the electronic sign. If the drivers have not seen all the other signs prior, it's not that small electronic sign with no big lights or colors that will catch the truck drivers' attention.
@@_blank-_ From what I recall, there are about 15 signs before you make it to the intersection, including the "wind chimes". It also turns the light red for 50 seconds if the vehicle triggers the overheight warning!
Driver error. I remember my trainer would always remind me my height is 13’1” Every bridge we passed on the highway he would say “ what’s the truck height?” Thanks trainer👍🏼
The red light was part of an attempt to stop the collisions. They were connected to a sensor that would trigger them when an over hight vehicle was detected.
That redlight is triggered by the height warning system. The trucks actually don't have enough time to physically slow down And if they did try to they would cause an accident where the cars behind them would hit them. The warning system ALSO doesn't work 1/2 the time. Someone needs to sue the city.
@@OgdenM That street has a 25 mph limit. I think it is mostly idiots speeding up trying to catch the yellow light, totally oblivious of everthing else. This bridge is doing the town a favour by giving those irrisponsible enough to drive into this bridge a well-needed reality check
@@OgdenM Sorry, sue the city? Are you aware of how many signs prior to that light warn repeatedly that oversized vehicles can’t fit? Are you gonna ram into a brick wall because there isn’t a stop sign? Have fun with getting a jury to side with you on that mentality.
I'd add an improvement. Big assed steel roller, rolling pin the truck to fit the opening. I don't often drive a tall truck, other than on rare occasions I was moving. But, passing under a bridge, I had already noted the height of my vehicle and noting the clearance, slowly went under when the gap was a bit close - hoping every inch of the way that the truck and bridge markings were accurate. It's called common sense, something that is, alas, an endangered species.
If they instal spinning diamond blades that beam, still there were drivers testing "would it fit" And looks like HOPE looks that bridge "does it fit" then beam says "hell no!"
I dont know why this is so funny... jeesus, seeing those air conditioning ducts get grated off had me in stitches. Keep on trucking, Can-Opener Bridge!!
I love how the warning rail is a massive solid steel “I beam” Most bridges I’ve seen have a thin little Aluminium bar hanging from chains about a foot in front of the bridge as a gentle “nudge” to advise the driver. This one has a steel slab to absorb the kinetic energy and prevent the truck hitting and damaging the bridge itself.
Yes, I was wondering why they haven't added a hanging clearance bar. For most of the trucks in the clip it wouldn't matter because they are going too fast for that test to actually stop a collision, but there was one or two that took it slow enough that it could have made a difference.
The hanging clearance bar would get in the way of the smaller trucks that deliver to restaurants in that area, the business owners objected,@@indigo0977
@@indigo0977 Because the bridge is far more important than the roof of the truck who didnt even pay attention to the THREE big warning signs, hell they even have a sensor that tells you in a jig electric billboard if the truck is too high.
A wise decision too. Bridge would have suffered severe structural damage over time from all the high velocity truck impacts. You saw how that old I-beam looked when they replaced it!
There is a similar bridge near my hometown. About 70 meters in front of it, there is a heavy and big but free hanging sign saying something like: "If you hit this sign you gonna hit that bridge!" As far as I know, no vehicles have been damaged since then, but the sign has been damaged several times.
They should do this in addition to the guard rail. Put three of those 11'8" free hanging signs on the roads leading to the intersection well before the bridge!
@black_wink1649 Yes but if you pay attention to 50% of the crashes these RV/trucks are bad drivers. 50% of them run the red-light and so they miss the LED sign that only lights when the light is green. I only feel bad for the ones making a right turn into the intersection.
I remember when it was 11' 8" and oversized trucks would try to run it at full speed only to be stopped dead, and the cab would be jerked off the ground, then slams back down! Awesome!
Now the bridge is more elegant at what it does. There is more accuracy, precision and sharpness to it. It peels trucks off with a certain touch of mastery that is hard to express. Leonardo da Vinci himself would be envious on this architectural marvel.
and credit to the masterful engineering and metal work of the guard. It sustains repeated high velocity strikes without more than a budge. Only if those red light runners/obliviots had as much integrity.
The craziest thing to me is the fact that these rental agencies specifically tell them about this bridge AND that their insurance DOES NOT cover damage if they hit it. Then THEY STILL HIT IT!!!
If you’re moving from another state, though, you wouldn’t have heard this warning. But yeah, if you’re in town and heard the warning and STILL didn’t heed? Shame on you. Lol.
Not to state the obvious... but uh... shouldn't the drivers know the vehicle height? When I rented uhauls, they made sure to point out the vehicle clearance...
@@TrillVillainYou need to know your truck's height first and foremost and the height of the bridge is posted, so if bridge number is lower than your truck number, you need to go around.
if this was a phone call OGR (Old Guard Rail): Hey there! So I heard you're the new guard rail? NGR (New Guard Rail): Yep, I just got installed. OGR: Good, because this bridge is a little small. NGR: what do you mean a little sma- *NGR scrapes a large truck* NGR: OWWW! OGR: Yep, that's one's going on the camera. NGR: Oh, I hope this isn't normal. OGR: Actually, it happens once a month. NGR: WHAT?
Drape an unsecured (with the ability to swing freely) metal sign that’s 11’ 8” in height just before the intersection that reads “If you hit this sign, you will hit the bridge”. I’ve seen this used in other states where low bridges exist and it works. Even if the driver isn’t paying attention, the noise of hitting the free swinging sign will instinctively make them brake.
@@JIKwood thank you for the correction... from what I’ve read, it’s now the 11’8”+8” bridge, but same principle applies. Warn drivers before they tear their vehicles up.
I think the issue here is that there's so little road between the intersection and the bridge, and the drivers are going so fast (partly because lingering in an intersection is a good way to cause an accident), that it would give them little warning before they made impact with the guard rail. If there was more road, then it could work, but as it is it would be about as effective a warning as Trinity's "Dodge this" from the first Matrix movie (spoiler: he didn't dodge it). The only times I can think of where it would be helpful is for the very few people we saw in this video that cautiously approached the bridge because they weren't sure if they'd fit or not.
@@JIKwood It's basic psychology. People who drive these box trucks typically have a IDGAF attitude. It's not that they don't see the sign, they're betting on the sign being wrong.
Legend has it the owner of the truck repair shops and truck rentals in the area, also owns the railway, and the pipes below the road, as well as the 11-8 website.
If all of them pool their money, they could form a lobbying group to petition the state government to lower ALL THE BRIDGES in the state back down to 11'8" XD better yet make that 11'7"
Great video! I wasn't aware they raised the height on this bridge. Years ago I worked in the Durham area so I was always aware of this underpass but it didn't seem to gain notoriety until a few years later. A friend of mine (who has since passed, unfortunately) was a truck terminal manager and had the bad luck of having one of his truck drivers hit the bridge while a CBS News crew was filming a news story about it. LOL! As a gag, his supervisors honored him with a cake. 😅
Here in Sweden, some bridges have a dangling reflective metal plate hanging above the road about 250 yards before the bridge with the same clearance, so when you hit the plate it let's you know you won't fit without doing any major damage to your truck
This bridge has a sensor which makes the light turn red and turns on a sign to let the driver know they must turn. Drivers who hit the bridge have ignored the sign and run the red light.
@@danieldaniels7571 yeah there is no excuse for not reading the sign, but I can assure you a loud ass bang that almost makes you shit yourself is gonna get anybodys attention
@Alexander Markland "Literally" has been used as hyperbole for a very long time. Hyperbole is an exaggeration not meant to be taken literally. The use of the word "literally" can even highlight that a statement is hyperbole by making the exaggeration more obvious.
I used to train truck drivers. One would miss important sighs so I gave him a task to solve this problem. He had to read every sign we passed out loud, not including mile markers, for 2 hrs. We both came to hate that 2hrs but years later he still reads warning signs with out fail.
I definitely had to call out bridge height signs, it's part of the CDL road test in NY. I drove for almost 3 years without incident, thank God! Also, Ryder box heights are either 12'6" or 13'. So none of those trucks are making it under at all. And it doesn't matter if the driver speaks only Spanish, numbers are the same in every language!
My driving instructor did the same thing to me... not because I ever missed a sign... but because he asked me "What did that last sign say?" ... and I couldn't answer.
@@Countryman333 But, with that kind of experience, you DID see the sign, and you reacted to it. The ones you don't remember were unimportant. I also have well over a million under my belt... less than most because I moved into dispatch for much of my trucking career.
These videos are a great learning resource. Made me super cautious of low clearance when driving my RV. I stopped and got out to make sure it would fit under a bridge because I didn't know my vehicle height.
Doing long distance delivery driving: Hard to stay aware of road. At what point, do i start to ignore signs ? -- Don't care of diverting to Nowhere.! -- I drive at safe speeds, don't care of silly speed limits. -- Truck stops ? Do I have enough fuel ? -- Overhead ? Concentrating on what is below me !
In my jurisdiction those rental trucks can be driven with a regular car licence as long as the total weight does not exceed 12,000 lbs. So companies will rent these trucks and hire a regular driver to drive them so they don't have to pay more in wages, you can usually spot them as they drive them like cars, and rarely if ever have their clearance lights on. Most are just thrown the keys and told "good luck" or have no substantial training. That being said the tractor trailers and other trucks is just plain inattentiveness, and have no excuse as they should know better.
This bridge has a well earned reputation. All truck rental agencies in town advise truck operators not to drive under this bridge. Alas, some still make the attempt and are doomed to absolute (expensive) failure.
Worse, it seems that many if not most of the trucks are indeed rentals. Where I am (sydney, oz) if you hire a truck the pantechnicon is not covered by any optional insurance, so you break it, you won it. If it is the same in that city, it must have been a financial disaster for some renters..
Man I'm sure this has been said a hell of a lot, but let's just take a minute and appreciate the engineering of that bridge. Years of abuse, tons of semis, and it never even so much as shook. That's crazy.
It's really not that complex. Cars nowadays are made to crumble (to avoid infrastructure damage and reduce damage to pedestrians) and the guardrail took the impact every time.
Watch the one with the crane truck, shook the left hand camera that's ACROSS the friggin street. th-cam.com/video/KD4RXrI0ZWU/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=yovo68
@@MrLego3160 the overhead bar base is wrapped around the column as you can see, and it looks like the vertical piece is either cemented in the ground as well or bolted, can’t tell. You’d have to hit the whole assembly pretty fuckin hard to rock that like 10ft concrete column, let alone the support it has too. That’s why OP said what he said.
Trucks have a super far stopping point, so when you're going 40 and you see a green light a few hundred feet away, and suddenly turn yellow, it's not worth to slam the brakes with gigantic truck.
There's a bridge like this in Melbourne, Australia. It's a whole lot lower at 9.8ft but still has managed to cap the roofs off about 100+ vehicles over the past 6 years
There's one in Perth too, the Bayswater railway bridge, it even has it's own website with photo's and a counter that tells you how many days it's been since someone hit it, it's 5 days as of now 😂
The sign should be changed from "over height must turn" to "YOU ARE OVER HEIGHT, TURN AWAY" because i think many people assume the sign isn't activated specifically for them but is just generally saying "IF you are over height turn away"
I hadn't thought of it that way but you're right and perhaps the more emphatic statement would help. However I don't have great hopes considering they should know and/or check with all the caution signs warning them.
@Troy Z the blinking sign is next to the traffic light, and when you're never ever supposed to be fixated on just one thing while driving, you should be looking around for other vehicles, pedestrians, and of course, signs and any flashing lights
@Troy Z Yes, but that's not a valid excuse for missing all the warnings and flashing lights The original commenter's point still stands that the driver would hold all the fault
@Troy Z The light is about to turn red or fully red when a lot of them go through because the truck is overheight. It's part of the system they have set up. Overheight trucks trigger a sensor that starts flashing the message and turns the light red to hopefully give them time to realize that they are about to smash into it. The problem is most of these idiots are speeding to begin with so they mash on the gas to try and race the red.
@Troy Z No, and that's not the point, they're bad drivers and its entirely their fault for the damage to their trucks. The human mind can only do one thing at a time, but it is fast in switching between things. As a responsible driver, one should always have safety in the back of their heads while driving. Check if there are any oncoming cars, if the light is RED, or if there is anything out of the ordinary RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU, like WARNING SIGNS or a GIANT FLASHING SIGN!
That old bent up girder (that was replaced on the bridge in 2019) would have made a good heirloom to hang somewhere with enough room. A lot of memories in that iron. ;-)
Here in Tasmania, we have a system of a high gantry over the road, with around 20 pipes hanging down with chains, set to the height of the low bridge. Around 50 metres back from the bridge. If you hit them, they make a helluva noise, but cause no damage. Thus letting the driver know, they’re not gonna fit… easy…
Apparently they used to do that, but got over needing to fix the bridge when people just blew through it. Theres height sensors that flash that sign and turn the light red - hence the id10ts speeding up to beat the red as well. And 500m of intersections and signage before it.
It would be fantastic to see this channel 30 years from now... Where the city engineers have gradually increased the clearance to 16’... ...and twice a month, people still manage to hit the bridge.
Imagine living there and waking up every couple of months with some really loud crashing noise. I'd wanna live there for the excitement lol but at the same time I wouldn't wanna live there cause I love sleep
Easy answer to stop this, it needs posts on the approaches with cow bells strung between them at the height of the bridge, if an overheight vehicle is going to hit the bridge it will hit the cow bells first and any driver with sense should stop. Much better than signs and flashing lights, problem almost solved. (you can't stop everyone no matter what is done)
The fun part for me is thinking about the people coming home from work who have had a bad day and get to see some idiot take the top off his box truck must make their day so much better after that
There is a similar bridge in my town, has had 0 crashes. The main reason is that a set of chains were installed, hanging some 300 ft. before the bridge. So if a truck hits them, it means it will not go through the bridge, giving it time to detour.
Most of the "victims" are driving rental trucks, meaning they aren't experienced with driving trucks and have probably learned to tune out signs talking about bridge height, since it is normally not relevant to them.
You would think by now the moving trucks in the area would tell people explicitly not to go under that bridge and threaten to make them pay for the truck if they do
You know that saying "give them an inch and they take the whole mile"? This is the most literal example of that. You can fix the bridge or even some of those trucks but you can't fix stupid.
@@dr.OgataSerizawa Only if you're British. Americans put periods and commas inside the quotes, but other punctuation outside (like the question mark in the original post). However, you're right in that "give" should have been capitalized.
I lived near this bridge for 10 years and have driven under here. The large majority of the drivers who get caught are driving rental trucks. You can see it in the videos. So they are mostly amateurs. Professional drivers of trucks know better.
I have seen several major carriers in the U.S. that use these rental trucks as a way of delivering goods from a central warehouse to customers within a specified radius. These are dedicated locals and are supposed to be professional drivers just like the OTR drivers.
Up in Massachusetts we have a similar bridge rated at 11' 8". Train tracks passing over a road so low it floods with a heavy rain or snow, Extensive signage with blinking LED lights have reduced the crashes to a minimum.
@@Ken.- I’m not sure what part that was, maybe the walkway, because those steel bridge bearers wouldn’t lift like that with that little impact. Good pickup though.
@@Nathanation88 That's not a walkway. That's the iron girder they put there so the trucks would hit it before they hit the bridge. That steel beam is supposed to take most of the damage and then be easily replaced when it gets too damaged.
There’s a 10’11” bridge in my hometown that gets hit so frequently they are trying to get the state to impose fines for hitting it. It’s probably the most fascinating thing about the area
@@jesse75 Search for Glenville Bridge, it’s in New York state. Unfortunately they don’t have cameras to monitor the actual strikes but there’s some pretty great footage of the aftermath.
Is that so the state can make money from it? Fines for speeding has worked so well on intentional speeders why not fine people who accidentally hit a bridge that will teach them.
Hilarious to think that you don't fine people already, that's destruction of public property and failure to abide road law because you're ignoring traffic information a.k.a. not paying attention
My favorite one is the RV camper running the red light and rushing through the intersection. He just bought their self a several thousand dollar lesson.
I have seen in many other places a cross bar hanging from chains about a block ahead of low clearance bridges but set a few inches lower. Light weight enough to not do much damage but heavy enough to make a real loud noise. Some others use a curtain of chains hanging down to make a loud noise. These were done long before electronic signs.
I used to work at McD's drive thru and they have that height clearance bar before drive thru. I've seen at many garages and drive thrus. If your vehicle hit the top of that bar then it won't fit. These stupid road engineers don't use them.
I've heard the insurance the rental companies sell has an exclusion for damage resulting from driving through a low clearance situation. The person/company renting the trucks are probably having to pay for the damage without the aid of an insurance claim. They probably also have to reimburse the rental company for the lost rental revenue while the truck is being repaired.
If I had to rent a truck in that city I would definitely be looking for evidence to see if the top of the truck had been reskinned, just out of my own curiosity.
It is my understanding that the rental truck companies in the area explicitly tell the customers about the bridge and that it is not covered under the insurance. Well, that is what I read anyway...
We have a similar situation with a bridge in my city. The city installed a warning system that sets off warning bells and lights well before a truck that’s too tall reaches the bridge. Even so, we still have a couple drivers a year who ignore the warnings and get stuck.
@5:30 the truck keeps going…wow. As a retired truck driver, there are bridges like this all over the country. Drivers are responsible for seeing the signs. In the north east, we were told the sign reading 11’8” may actually be 12’0”, but as roads get repaved and maintained, never trust the signs. 11’8” could be 11’6”.
If the crew repaving the road is just laying new over old, a bigger problem exists, but yes, I would give myself a 4” buffer to what the sign says. Even road camber or bumps/bouncing can make the corner of the truck stick up slightly higher than the stationary truck height.
This happened to a guy I knew, on the way out of town, he crawled his truck under the bridge knowing he should have just about enough clearance and he did, by the most minimal of margins, so on the way back, loaded with cargo, he figured he could just drive through and pealed his truck, unbeknownst to him that the road had been repaved.
Let's just look at the statistics. Ideally, it wouldn't happen because people can just read the signs. However, in practice this doesn't happen. It looks like the scope of human behavior can't prevent this because it still happens, and instead of blaming everyone who hits it, let's just keep trying to raise it. Human behavior and is somewhat fixed in place, with changes being able to be made individually. But with that known, and the fact this still happens, just change the bridge.
@@ZentaBon it’s completely uneconomical and impractical to change the bridge. I support additional warning methods, but it’s not to save a few people embarrassment, it’s because the stupid driver is often not the one to be most impacted by their actions (financial, business or injury wise). The cheapest way to deal with it is ban all trucks from going under; there are two level crossings within a few hundred yards of that point. The next cheapest is to piggyback off existing systems, and implement an unsophisticated active warning system. I suggested an array of maybe 5 or 6 stepper motors attached to the back of the collision barrier, which rotate a 2-3’ long foam, hi-vis warning object, 90 degrees down into the path of the approaching truck. They could be anything as simple as a pool noodle, or a small foam stop sign. It’s only 2-3’, so normal cars can pass, without issue. They would be flexible, in case there’s non-over height trucks on the same group of traffic, or if the still ignore it and collide. All of the infrastructure is already there (support structure, sensors and electrical equipment). The hardest routing the power too it (not really that hard). It can be low voltage, for safety, and it’s super cheap.
I love how a lot of the vehicles are rental trucks. Once I was in a Penski in Chicago and my buddy was driving. I screamed STOP! He did and asked why. I said the bridge is 12.3 and we're 12.8 (I could be off on the heights but it works for the story). Fortunately a friendly cop came along and helped us back up to an off ramp, so no harm.
One thing that should be mentioned. Railroad track by necessity must be as straight and level as possible. Even the raising of the tracks 8" was mainly done for the safety of the trains using the track. Raising it further or lowering it further would both be detrimental to the trains using it. Hence why raising it had nothing to do with preventing accidents. Also both the train and road route are busy important routes by the looks of it, so moving them would be too complicated and expensive for the sake of a few non-lethal accidents.
Freight railroads use a ridiculously low power to weight ratio, which why they need the extremely flat grades. There are ways of raising the clearance without raising the tracks, but it would require completely redesigning the bridge to put all the supports on top, e.g. cable stays. This would also reduce the margin between the rails and the guard rail which could reduce safety.
Giovanni Cervantes : watch the video again, those trucks actually never hit the bridge itsef, but just the metal bar in front of it. And that does a pretty darn good job of catching all of it.
There was a low railroad bridge near me (10' 5") that was also a narrow 10' 6" wide one lane underpass. It was controlled by a traffic signal. Only a few trucks hit the bridge. My state lowered the road and now the clearance is 10'11" and widened the road to two 12' lanes with wide shoulders. Unfortunately, now the bridge is hit more frequently. They could not lower the road more because there's a creek about 20' before the underpass. They should have left the bridge at 10' 5" with the narrow one lane road under the bridge.
And imagine all the truck drivers that lost work or their jobs,over this mistake,speaking from experience myself,I didn't rip the whole roof of mind, but slowly went under a small bridge in a flat bed trailer!?caught the upright head board steel bent it as I came out,and lost work when it was reported back!?😕
It had a good life and served with honour. It deserves a comfortable retirement, someplace nice, where it can regale the younger guard rails with its experiences.
In Europe, there are large rubber bands hanging over the street at the exact same height the bridge is at, this a bit before the bridge, the trucks which are too high will hit them without any damage but the noise it makes is enough to alert the drivers who can then turn before the bridge. Not sure why this not used in the US as it is cheap and effective
Apparently they used to do that, but got tired of needing to fix the bridge when people just blew through the indicator. There's height sensors that flash the OVERHEIGHT MUST TURN and turn the light red - hence the id10ts speeding up to beat the red as well. And 500m of intersections and signage before it.
how long will the new guard rail last before it's as badly bent as the old guard rail? any guess's cause you can't stop stupid people from hitting it so might as well take a guess
In Australia, it’s common that low bridges and tunnels have lights and bells like a rail crossing. Trucks height is checked by simple laser, if too high it sets off lights.
I love these videos because I once totaled a rental truck in a similar manner, but with an overhanging tree branch. The tree branch ripped off the top of the truck just like you see in these videos. The damage was extraordinary.
@@bruhayy3331 No, if i rent something , i must be extremly carefully, because of my lack of experience. Tt is better to make slow, look 2 or 3 times. AND to use the b r a i n.
Most of the box trucks are rentals. They're giving Joe Shmo (whose never been in anything bigger than a minivan) the keys and saying, "Have a nice day!"
Many of these rental trucks probably are professional drivers, but in a truck that's new to them; their company has leased a truck to augment their own fleet. It's hard to guess at a glance but in my own experience a large truck with a hydraulic liftgate is more likely to be of a class that requires a professional driver. Yoo-halls that rent to the rest of us more commonly have ramps instead (fewer amputations!) and height decals pretty prominent in the driver's field of view. Not to say there aren't a lot of roofs peeled back even so.
that's why I always pay full premium on the rental insurance when i rent a car, van or truck. Moved many times. And yes, I look at the signs. If I damage the vehicle, i know I'm covered but the hassle and embarrassment of bringing back a damaged vehicle back scares me lol
Those rental trucks have their height plastered all over the inside and outside for penske, you see it in the cab and your reiwview mirrors, people refuse to read
It is very funny oh yes! When ever I’m down and gloomy, I come here to watch. When the numb of nutt mess up it an utter delight- there is nothing so funny as watching someone else make expensive mistake thank you thank you 😂
Syracuse has one at 10'9". 8 warning signs, restricted road, no commercial traffic, painted road, laser reporting system and still idiots hit the bridge.
And there's a heavily pedestrian area -- along with another light -- barely a hundred meters beyond that bridge. Some of these people are going too fast no matter what.
@@steve00alt70 they can send the bill to who owns the bridge all they want. The city isn't going to pay for a mistake made by an idiot who doesn't know how to drive a truck. It's the drivers responsibility to pay for the damage that they caused by their poor choices.
I’ve lived in Durham for most of my life, and this is a constant source of entertainment. What most people don’t know is that there’s another 11’8 bridge for the same tracks about ten blocks away, but it’s a bit more obvious so it doesn’t get quite as many canopenings as this one.
I think I know what bridge you're talking about... there's a similar bridge on N. Roxboro St. as you approach the Downtown Loop that sits even lower than the Gregson St. bridge...
I drove trucks with heights in excess of 12 ft for 25 years. I never hit a bridge, because it’s the responsibility of the driver to know the height of his/ her vehicle and not take stupid chances.
Exactly. Notice most of the trucks hitting it are rentals, so we know what that means... KNOW YOUR HEIGHT PEOPLE, AND PAY ATTENTION TO THE FREAKING SIGNS!!!!
Like I said my guess is they’re not used to having to pay attention to vehicle heights therefore they’re not paying attention to anything except the road directly in front of them and are pretty much ignoring everything else
@@ralan350 People should at least be aware of the fact that they’re no longer driving a car. If you’re driving a vehicle and don’t take a few minutes to be aware of the dimensions of said vehicle, then you absolutely have no business driving it.
Years ago when I was driving truck I took my first load into NYC and came across multiple bridges with low height signs of like 12.6, 12.9 ect.. and being 13.6 I had pulled over and put my flashes on and proceeded to try and figure out how I could get out of this mess as there was no turns. Well after about 10 minutes of sitting there, I had watched multiple other trucks pass on through, so I proceeded to crawl slowly with flashers on and made it through. As I was passing through another truck came by and hollered on the radio that all these bridges are 13.6 and I would be fine, that the city marks them low so they cannot be sued incase of an accident. I've often wondered where this bridge is and if some of the drivers just don't take the signs serious because of past experiences, like driving in NYC. I know personally I hated going to NYC for many reasons, but the bridges were a big one, as in many cases you had no choice but to go under them. And while I always fit, it was nerve wracking as the signs suggested otherwise.
6:22 Runs the red at more-than-full-speed, receives instant karma. *chef's kiss* Sucks that this obvious point of conflict stays, but that was a nice side-effect.
In our local town we have red lights flashing, massive signs, automatic hight measurements and lorries / trucks still hit the bridge - I used to drive lorries / trucks myself and I never understood how drivers can hit bridges - even when I rented vans / trucks I measured the hight - never even trusted the stickers inside - and if those stickers were wrong, wrote myself a notice and stuck it to windshield to not forget ... Never hit a bridge ... ever
a small laser on some of the buildings ahead of the bridge and a guy in post to see what trucks he has to stop ow the laser went off must mean it is to high (ps i wonder how many trucks would have made it with a heavier load or lower setting on possible air suspension on the trucks
The light at the intersection right in front of the bridge literally turns red whenever an overheight truck approaches. That's why you see so many of them in this video gunning the engine and hitting that thing so fast. They're running the red light. If they're going to do that, there's no sign at all that is going to stop them.
★★★ *FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE VIDEO / FACT UPDATES* ★★★
*1) North Carolina Law requires a height clearance of 13'6"* - However, this bridge was built in 1940 and is NOT in violation because it was built prior to the current height standard. At the time of Its construction, it met all applicable criteria. The current standard cannot be applied retroactively, and re-building the bridge would be too costly. Lowering the road is also not an option due to a sewer line under it.
*2) Why not just lower the road* - The reason the road cannot be lowered is because there are sewer lines and water pipes below the roads surface, and the council could not lower the roads surface any further. Also if they wanted move the pipes, it would cost millions of dollars and will cause important utilities to be shut down for weeks or even months. So it’s not practical.
*3) Why not lower the bridge, to make it obvious a truck won't fit through* - For the same reason they have never raised the bridge, because the railroad company does not have to, they are legally within their rights not to raise or lower the bridge. Also a lot of traffic uses that bridge, it would cause more problems re-routing all that traffic that can still *JUST* fit under it.
*4) Why not just close the road, so no one can go through* - Well maybe because most small trucks, buses & RV’s still do fit under the bridge, that the council did not want to interfere with re-routing all that traffic, just because 1 truck a month does not pay attention to warning signs, and crashes into the guard rail.
*5) Why not just ban trucks past a certain height from using that bridge* - Ok seems like a good idea, how will you inform all the random trucks using that bridge of that ban, will you use a sign stating the ban? I assume you will put that sign near the bridge somewhere, maybe right next to the BIG FLASHING SIGN saying "OVERHEIGHT MUST TURN" because obviously the truck drivers are reading all the signs at the bridge, right?
*6) What happens to all the metal parts that break off the trucks* - Jürgen Henn, the owner of the youtube channel Yovo68, picks up pieces of metal from Truck Accidents and sells them on his website, along with T-Shirts, now this man is an entrepreneur.
*7) Waste of time and money raising the bridge only 8 inches* - The main purpose of raising of the bridge another 8 inches, was to level out the 8-inch grade difference between the level crossing down the road and the bridge itself.
The increased road clearance was only a side-effect of the project, its primary purpose was to level the grade of the tracks so the trains did not have to slow down and can run more efficiently.
*8) Waste of tax payers money, the government did not raise the bridge high enough* - This was not a tax funded upgrade, the bridge is owned by the railroad and they paid to raise the bridge for their own benefit, not for the publics benefit.
*9) Why can't drivers read the signs* - One viewer wrote this "I live in that region. Another big reason are there are a lot Spanish-speaking drivers who can't read English (no joke). Its a travesty and makes other people unsafe."
*10) Absolute idiots, how do they not know the clearance of their vehicles* - about 30 years ago I rented a medium box truck to move house, I rented the truck but I had a friend drive, as I did not know how to drive a manual, but it never occurred to me to know the height of the truck when I rented it, but then again we did not have any bridges to go under on the trip.
*11) Where is the bridge located* - *"Norfolk Southern-Gregson Street Overpass"* Between W. Peabody and S. Pettigrew Streets and crossroad S. Gregson Street downtown Durham, NC
This FAQ is a cut and paste from my original Can Opener bridge video.
This is soooooo old.
Why the sudden interest?
@@Bibibosh yes you are right it's so old, it was made in 1940, but was just raised. so now it's new again :)
@@Bibibosh Thanks so much Bibi, appreciate the positive feedback, glad you liked it. I thought for sure I went a little overboard on this video, going 8 minutes long, but I had to recover all the points everyone seems to focus on.
But I think it came out ok.
Regarding point 1) When my home province mandated clearance heights, it was in response to bridges like this one. There was no exceptions made for how old it was.
Regarding point 2) You say "...move the pipes...", what do you mean by that? Move them how? Alternatively, most water and sewer systems are laid out with diversions for flow management, aka they are lying about the problems to be lazy. Yeah, fixing a mess has to happen at some point, no matter how far down the road you want to kick that can.
Regarding point 5) At a couple of points you speak on "drivers not reading the signs", those signs are right at the bridge and right at the intersection. That is too late when driving in the middle of traffic.
Finally, the rail company proved it could do something with the bridge, and the city traffic could withstand the closure of that bridge for weeks to months. This also appears to be a place of major traffic which necessitates the correcting of the clearance height for the bridge, the cost of doing so be damned. The sewer and water lines were all redone where I live, the project is taking a lot of time but it is getting done, and it won't have to get redone for a great many years outside of general maintenance. I still had both water and sewer the entire time with only one outage that took a couple of hours as they were changing valves. There are literally no excuses for this bridge.
Less of a can opener now, more of a cheese grater.
Honestly, I'd say it's better now. It's a lot more satisfying to see the entire roof get shredded, instead of making it just half way through before getting snagged.
Indeed so if you still don't pay attention serves the truck drivers right . $$$$ nom nom nommmmm
I thinks your comment is better articulated then mine. My hat off to you good sir. 🤠🙂
After doing a lot of math, hacking into IBM's Summit supercomputer and letting it to the calculations I believe I have come up with a solution. Close the f**cking road. Obviously raising it and putting up all the warning devices cannot cure stupid.
@@explorenaked funny
My favorite was the driver who prudently stopped, opened his door, and carefully eye-balled the clearance and the box on his truck, decided it would fit ... and then collided with the bridge!
He did the right thing though, only he just slightly misjudged the clearance
@@danishghostrider he's still a moron for not knowing his Rigs hight!!
Love how it says "hope" on the side😂🤣👍
His goobrosity will forever be remembered as that one guy who did the right thing but he was still too much of a dingleberry to not bonk his truck on a bridge.
@@jamiehardcastle7952 Thanks! I actually hadn't noticed.
This is in the city that I grew up in, and I can tell you that the warnings near the bridge are only the LAST warnings. There are several more before you even get to the block before this intersection. This bridge has been a source of local entertainment since I was a child.
Jerry Edmonds like comedian Ron white says, “you can’t fix stupid.”
I love watching the morons run the light and crashing into the bridge. Dumb a$$e$!
Surely it will give entertainment for many generations ahead
@@epiqedwin8737 : Ron White.
Good gosh...there must be at least one patio view to be able to chill with a brewski and watch the opener do its work.
We love our 11’8”+8 bridge in Durham. The man was a genius for making videos of the people running into it.
It's one of my go-to's for funny videos!
Love the skimmer bar, skims them down to size so they can fit safely and neatly under the bridge.
That's an interesting positive way to look at it.
They should sharpen it up! =)
@@A_penguin_from_matmart4928 it's purpose is to protect the bridge after all
no leo , the purpose is a lot more noble than just protecting the bridge . the purpose is to skim trucks ( like the original comment said ) .. to serve trucks like a super advanced instantaneous AND free of charge pitstop for tunning trucks instantly ,, or like a drive-trough of preparations BEFORE going smoothly and happily ever after under the bridge thinking "i'm so super-happy and grateful for not even touching the god-damned bridge AND for that completely free skimmer . thank you god , i was so close destroying my truck with that bridge " . and not only that , but after that free modification next time you know that speeding trough it's better like pulling a nose hair (not counting the after-tears) and only laugh at that height limit sign as if it's there only for the newbies and not for the already verified skimmed trucks ...the veterans ...the pioneers .
@@d6wave copy pasta material
The truck repair shops in that town must be booming in business.
They have employees on the City council and they have shares in the repair shop. No one worked that out yet.
I bet they have their own bridge hotline along with a dedicated booth just for the can opened victims.
pretty sure there's one on the other side of the bridge lol
Y'all are crazy to think these company dont make these drivers drive there trucks back to the company shops/yard haha family dispatcher had a guy rip his roof off his truck in the north east had to bring it back to Texas lucky for him he had an empty trailer or he would be delivering it before he could have came back.
@Jabe Jikkonen Sorry you crashed your truck into the bridge. Maybe you should have read the sign.
It’s crazy to see how many people ran the red light before hitting the bridge in the video clips.
Then they deserved it even more
I was wondering why more people didn’t comment on that! Some were several seconds after the light turned and the cross traffic started advancing. Several of these a holes were driving very fast too trying to beat the light. Imagine they t bone a car and kill people? They deserve to have some vehicle damage
The overheight lights actually trigger the stop lights to cycle. They either have to run the red, or stop and then crash.
Honestly, I'm not all that surprised that there seems to be a correlation between people who run the red and people who don't notice (or ignore) the height warning...
@TheNewGTAV-Modder
Truckma mostly
I love the RVs and their A/C units. Grandma is going remind Grandpa every second of every minute of every hour of every day for the rest of his life.
🤣🤣👍
@@birddayparties Dag NABIT, Harriet, there ya go agin!
Honestly they made the bridge better. It's now the *perfect* height for full-length tin-can peels.
Satisfying
Indeed. that guard rail will last for a couple of hundred years with the current height - sparing the railroad Co. further maintenance. Unless of course there is a change in the legal height for containers .
In summary -the railroad engineers got it just right. Before trucks were stopped and jammed up the road for hours - now the driver goes straight through and likely gets fired at the destination. A Legendary fix !! :-))
Lol
I can't wait 🤣
@@curtisalan4402 peel
I really think that two things need to be added to the bridge area:
1. Electronic sign on the other side of the bridge saying "We told you that you were too tall"
2. Truck silhouettes painted on the side of the crash beam, like WWII fighter kills.
I visited a National Forest once that did something similar. Under a sign that said "all pets must be leashed" was a sign that said, "Score so far this season: Dogs 0, Predators 3."
There’s a tunnel down south that does exactly that. It has a few trucks, a car, and somehow a bike lol.
My idea: have a metal bar/pool noodle hanging in the air, same height as the bridge, ahead of the intersection. When a truck that's too tall hits that bar, first the bar bangs on the roof which alerts the driver and it should trigger an alarm or a voice that screams "short bridge ahead, redirect your truck". They should also use a red triangle and flashing lights with the electronic sign. If the drivers have not seen all the other signs prior, it's not that small electronic sign with no big lights or colors that will catch the truck drivers' attention.
@@_blank-_ From what I recall, there are about 15 signs before you make it to the intersection, including the "wind chimes". It also turns the light red for 50 seconds if the vehicle triggers the overheight warning!
😂
Driver error. I remember my trainer would always remind me my height is 13’1”
Every bridge we passed on the highway he would say “ what’s the truck height?”
Thanks trainer👍🏼
Weird vehicle, truck standards are 13' 6". Are you a tanker or something?
@@lilacdoe7945 local runs in Chicago. We drive 13'1'' refers
@Carol Young only on interstates and most US highways.
Your trainer is a hero. Everybody should always be aware of their clearance.
@@leocardenas7306 ohh, FUUUCK that! Better you than me! I can't stand getting anywhere near Chicago. Thankfully I RARELY go into town.
I’m just amazed at the number of trucks that not only hit the bridge, but run the red light in the process!!🤦♂️🤷♂️
The red light was part of an attempt to stop the collisions. They were connected to a sensor that would trigger them when an over hight vehicle was detected.
That redlight is triggered by the height warning system.
The trucks actually don't have enough time to physically slow down And if they did try to they would cause an accident where the cars behind them would hit them.
The warning system ALSO doesn't work 1/2 the time.
Someone needs to sue the city.
@@OgdenM That street has a 25 mph limit. I think it is mostly idiots speeding up trying to catch the yellow light, totally oblivious of everthing else. This bridge is doing the town a favour by giving those irrisponsible enough to drive into this bridge a well-needed reality check
@@OgdenM Funny, the video shows plenty of trucks slowing/stopping in time. The others are speeding aholes
@@OgdenM Sorry, sue the city? Are you aware of how many signs prior to that light warn repeatedly that oversized vehicles can’t fit? Are you gonna ram into a brick wall because there isn’t a stop sign? Have fun with getting a jury to side with you on that mentality.
Anyone else find it ironic that the “HOPE” truck stopped, analyzed the situation, and tried anyway? Lol
Yeah, his Hope didn't Change much, sort of like Obama.
HOPE... Absolutely perfect
Hopeful. Mostly hopeful.
He really hoped.
@@richmcintyre1178
Nice!
This is perfection, with elevation upgrade, a thicker beam and new framework, the can opener peels better than ever!
I'd add an improvement. Big assed steel roller, rolling pin the truck to fit the opening.
I don't often drive a tall truck, other than on rare occasions I was moving. But, passing under a bridge, I had already noted the height of my vehicle and noting the clearance, slowly went under when the gap was a bit close - hoping every inch of the way that the truck and bridge markings were accurate.
It's called common sense, something that is, alas, an endangered species.
New and improved from Ronco!
The fabulous "Ginsu Bridge"! It slices, it dices, it cuts the truck into Julienne Fries! 😆
If they instal spinning diamond blades that beam, still there were drivers testing "would it fit"
And looks like HOPE looks that bridge "does it fit" then beam says "hell no!"
They should lift the bridge
I think the bridge is alive and squats when trucks come by.
Hahaha 😂 got me with that one
So that’s where Carolina Squat really came from? 🤔
That would be hilarious
Let’s hope so.
That's some intense junk grinding then
I dont know why this is so funny... jeesus, seeing those air conditioning ducts get grated off had me in stitches. Keep on trucking, Can-Opener Bridge!!
the guardrail thats been smashed should be in a museum somewhere lol..
Mounted, so can be seen from road.
Fully outlined with many crosses.
I would pay to visit an accident museum.
State farm museum
It just seems like you would be inviting people to crash into the museum. We all know it gets hit no matter what.
I love how the warning rail is a massive solid steel “I beam” Most bridges I’ve seen have a thin little
Aluminium bar hanging from chains about a foot in front of the bridge as a gentle “nudge” to advise the driver. This one has a steel slab to absorb the kinetic energy and prevent the truck hitting and damaging the bridge itself.
Yes, I was wondering why they haven't added a hanging clearance bar. For most of the trucks in the clip it wouldn't matter because they are going too fast for that test to actually stop a collision, but there was one or two that took it slow enough that it could have made a difference.
The hanging clearance bar would get in the way of the smaller trucks that deliver to restaurants in that area, the business owners objected,@@indigo0977
@@indigo0977 Because the bridge is far more important than the roof of the truck who didnt even pay attention to the THREE big warning signs, hell they even have a sensor that tells you in a jig electric billboard if the truck is too high.
@@virgilio6349I heard that in the 90s, a crane hit the bridge and caused major damage and that's why the bar was added.
A wise decision too. Bridge would have suffered severe structural damage over time from all the high velocity truck impacts. You saw how that old I-beam looked when they replaced it!
There is a similar bridge near my hometown. About 70 meters in front of it, there is a heavy and big but free hanging sign saying something like: "If you hit this sign you gonna hit that bridge!"
As far as I know, no vehicles have been damaged since then, but the sign has been damaged several times.
They should do this in addition to the guard rail. Put three of those 11'8" free hanging signs on the roads leading to the intersection well before the bridge!
@@tylerwinkle323 I think the problem is the intersection. Trucks would get hit by the warning even if they weren’t planning on going under the bridge.
This was my exact thought and suggestion (except for the verbiage which sounds even better)
@black_wink1649 Yes but if you pay attention to 50% of the crashes these RV/trucks are bad drivers.
50% of them run the red-light and so they miss the LED sign that only lights when the light is green.
I only feel bad for the ones making a right turn into the intersection.
Seems to be a nice lo-tech solution. I see them all the time in parking garages.
I remember when it was 11' 8" and oversized trucks would try to run it at full speed only to be stopped dead, and the cab would be jerked off the ground, then slams back down! Awesome!
Now the bridge is more elegant at what it does. There is more accuracy, precision and sharpness to it. It peels trucks off with a certain touch of mastery that is hard to express. Leonardo da Vinci himself would be envious on this architectural marvel.
Yeah. Better kills, but not enough now!
They should make it out of a really strong glass so the truckers can’t even see the bar
and credit to the masterful engineering and metal work of the guard. It sustains repeated high velocity strikes without more than a budge. Only if those red light runners/obliviots had as much integrity.
That bridge has had decades of experience. It is now a master of its craft.
Practice makes perfect.
The craziest thing to me is the fact that these rental agencies specifically tell them about this bridge AND that their insurance DOES NOT cover damage if they hit it.
Then THEY STILL HIT IT!!!
You don’t know that. This is made up
IKR? Every Ryder Truck rental in the area has to require the salespeople to do a special 30-second warning where they mention the can-opener bridge...
If you’re moving from another state, though, you wouldn’t have heard this warning. But yeah, if you’re in town and heard the warning and STILL didn’t heed? Shame on you. Lol.
Not to state the obvious... but uh... shouldn't the drivers know the vehicle height?
When I rented uhauls, they made sure to point out the vehicle clearance...
@@TrillVillainYou need to know your truck's height first and foremost and the height of the bridge is posted, so if bridge number is lower than your truck number, you need to go around.
I would open a truck body repair shop just past the bridge.
I guarantee the day I opened my shop the council would finally agree to pay the millions to lower the road.
Brilliant! There's money to be made!
None of the bodies are getting damaged its just the trailers. Own a trailer repair/ replacement shop
I don't know, but i'm sure there is one!
@J Taylor pretty sure it's not a joke and more of a theoretical business plan. And no. A truck shop wouldn't relid trailers
Man, I can't even imagine the bill for taking out 4 bus airconditioners.
I think they are about $1000 each
If the guard rails could talk...
Old rail: go get'em kid
New rail: I won't let ya down
Underrated comment
Old rail: Ha! I'm free! So long, sucker!
New rail: wait, WHAT?!
I'm not crying....I'm cutting onions....
the bridge is like, just like old times i still got it.
if this was a phone call
OGR (Old Guard Rail): Hey there! So I heard you're the new guard rail?
NGR (New Guard Rail): Yep, I just got installed.
OGR: Good, because this bridge is a little small.
NGR: what do you mean a little sma-
*NGR scrapes a large truck*
NGR: OWWW!
OGR: Yep, that's one's going on the camera.
NGR: Oh, I hope this isn't normal.
OGR: Actually, it happens once a month.
NGR: WHAT?
Drape an unsecured (with the ability to swing freely) metal sign that’s 11’ 8” in height just before the intersection that reads “If you hit this sign, you will hit the bridge”. I’ve seen this used in other states where low bridges exist and it works. Even if the driver isn’t paying attention, the noise of hitting the free swinging sign will instinctively make them brake.
You got the height wrong but yes.
@@JIKwood thank you for the correction... from what I’ve read, it’s now the 11’8”+8” bridge, but same principle applies. Warn drivers before they tear their vehicles up.
I think the issue here is that there's so little road between the intersection and the bridge, and the drivers are going so fast (partly because lingering in an intersection is a good way to cause an accident), that it would give them little warning before they made impact with the guard rail. If there was more road, then it could work, but as it is it would be about as effective a warning as Trinity's "Dodge this" from the first Matrix movie (spoiler: he didn't dodge it). The only times I can think of where it would be helpful is for the very few people we saw in this video that cautiously approached the bridge because they weren't sure if they'd fit or not.
@@Greywander87 It would still reduce their impact force when they are breaking earlier
@@JIKwood It's basic psychology. People who drive these box trucks typically have a IDGAF attitude. It's not that they don't see the sign, they're betting on the sign being wrong.
Legend has it the owner of the truck repair shops and truck rentals in the area, also owns the railway, and the pipes below the road, as well as the 11-8 website.
infinite money glitch
😂
If all of them pool their money, they could form a lobbying group to petition the state government to lower ALL THE BRIDGES in the state back down to 11'8" XD better yet make that 11'7"
Great video! I wasn't aware they raised the height on this bridge. Years ago I worked in the Durham area so I was always aware of this underpass but it didn't seem to gain notoriety until a few years later. A friend of mine (who has since passed, unfortunately) was a truck terminal manager and had the bad luck of having one of his truck drivers hit the bridge while a CBS News crew was filming a news story about it. LOL! As a gag, his supervisors honored him with a cake. 😅
Here in Sweden, some bridges have a dangling reflective metal plate hanging above the road about 250 yards before the bridge with the same clearance, so when you hit the plate it let's you know you won't fit without doing any major damage to your truck
Your beautiful country is leaps and bounds above the U.S. when it comes to safety and ingenuity.
Too easy
This bridge has a sensor which makes the light turn red and turns on a sign to let the driver know they must turn. Drivers who hit the bridge have ignored the sign and run the red light.
@@danieldaniels7571 yeah there is no excuse for not reading the sign, but I can assure you a loud ass bang that almost makes you shit yourself is gonna get anybodys attention
@@gmodderr good point. and that would also make for good TH-cam content, too.
This is literally why truck rental companies insurance doesn’t cover the roof haha
yes, Not metaphorically
Good thing you threw in "literally" or else I would have thought you didn't REALLY REALLY mean it.
@Alexander Markland "Literally" has been used as hyperbole for a very long time. Hyperbole is an exaggeration not meant to be taken literally. The use of the word "literally" can even highlight that a statement is hyperbole by making the exaggeration more obvious.
@@dbattleaxe this whole comment thread is predictable
I wonder how much that will damage your bank account. Ouch..
I used to train truck drivers. One would miss important sighs so I gave him a task to solve this problem. He had to read every sign we passed out loud, not including mile markers, for 2 hrs. We both came to hate that 2hrs but years later he still reads warning signs with out fail.
I definitely had to call out bridge height signs, it's part of the CDL road test in NY. I drove for almost 3 years without incident, thank God! Also, Ryder box heights are either 12'6" or 13'. So none of those trucks are making it under at all. And it doesn't matter if the driver speaks only Spanish, numbers are the same in every language!
My driving instructor did the same thing to me... not because I ever missed a sign... but because he asked me "What did that last sign say?" ... and I couldn't answer.
@@Countryman333
But, with that kind of experience, you DID see the sign, and you reacted to it.
The ones you don't remember were unimportant.
I also have well over a million under my belt... less than most because I moved into dispatch for much of my trucking career.
Drivers don't plan their trips anymore. They just type in the address in GPS and haul ass.
Meanwhile on railroads at least one of two drivers read signals out loud.
These videos are a great learning resource. Made me super cautious of low clearance when driving my RV. I stopped and got out to make sure it would fit under a bridge because I didn't know my vehicle height.
Make them pay attention? Nearly all the trucks that go under that are damaged are all rental trucks.
@Candy Barlau Or you know...they’re moving their shit??
Choices
-- Physical: Do not go under
-- Slight, Noticible damage to vehicle
-- Remove the bridge
Doing long distance delivery driving:
Hard to stay aware of road.
At what point, do i start to ignore signs ?
-- Don't care of diverting to Nowhere.!
-- I drive at safe speeds, don't care of silly speed limits.
-- Truck stops ? Do I have enough fuel ?
-- Overhead ? Concentrating on what is below me !
In my jurisdiction those rental trucks can be driven with a regular car licence as long as the total weight does not exceed 12,000 lbs. So companies will rent these trucks and hire a regular driver to drive them so they don't have to pay more in wages, you can usually spot them as they drive them like cars, and rarely if ever have their clearance lights on. Most are just thrown the keys and told "good luck" or have no substantial training. That being said the tractor trailers and other trucks is just plain inattentiveness, and have no excuse as they should know better.
Oh holy hell, hi Larry!
This bridge has a well earned reputation. All truck rental agencies in town advise truck operators not to drive under this bridge. Alas, some still make the attempt and are doomed to absolute (expensive) failure.
Worse, it seems that many if not most of the trucks are indeed rentals. Where I am (sydney, oz) if you hire a truck the pantechnicon is not covered by any optional insurance, so you break it, you won it. If it is the same in that city, it must have been a financial disaster for some renters..
The road needs to be renamed…. Ignorant f🤬k blvd
@@alexanderSydneyOz thanks to this comment, I learned a new word "pantechnicon." Here in the southern part of the states it's just a box truck.
@@alexanderSydneyOz Professional drivers probably understand their truck height, so this will be mostly idiots renting lol
@@DataLog completely agree.
Man I'm sure this has been said a hell of a lot, but let's just take a minute and appreciate the engineering of that bridge. Years of abuse, tons of semis, and it never even so much as shook. That's crazy.
It's really not that complex. Cars nowadays are made to crumble (to avoid infrastructure damage and reduce damage to pedestrians) and the guardrail took the impact every time.
There actually have been some videos where you could see the entire bridge move. I swear I haven't spent too much time watching these videos
Watch the one with the crane truck, shook the left hand camera that's ACROSS the friggin street.
th-cam.com/video/KD4RXrI0ZWU/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=yovo68
They don't hit the bridge itself, the bar is specially designed to skim the trucks so they don't touch it.
@@MrLego3160 the overhead bar base is wrapped around the column as you can see, and it looks like the vertical piece is either cemented in the ground as well or bolted, can’t tell. You’d have to hit the whole assembly pretty fuckin hard to rock that like 10ft concrete column, let alone the support it has too. That’s why OP said what he said.
The full sardine can roof peel is soooo satisfying.
You mean peel(it is 2 e's)
I remember renting my first Uhaul and the guy said ‘yea the insurance covers everything minus the roof’. Now I know why 🤣
Lol haha
I love the nickname of this bridge.
And like many can openers it doesn’t quite finish the job.
They should put a pic of Gandalf saying “YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!”
😂😂😂😂
Thank you! 🤣🤣🤣👍🏽
😂😂😂
This should be a huge street art XD
They did so in Russia
The problem is obviously that the height signs are in some sort of archaic medieval measuring system.
lol, every European thinking exactly that :)
Bridge: My new height will be 12'4"
Penske: Hey guys, let's raise our box trucks another 8 inches for larger capacity!
Or over inflate the tires😂
Truck insurance rates must be murder in this zip code. LOLOL
@@ih82r8Insurance specifically doesn’t cover this bridge because of how many rental trucks crash into it
5:25 Overheight, _and_ through a red light. I'm sure insurance was happy to see that guy.
the overheight detection makes the light turn red
@@chasem4659 it was like 3 sec yellow now it'll turn red exactly when he crossed anywaus
Imagine those truck drivers explaining to their bosses.
At that point just fix it out of your own pocket it will be cheaper than how much youll pay in increased insurance rates.
Trucks have a super far stopping point, so when you're going 40 and you see a green light a few hundred feet away, and suddenly turn yellow, it's not worth to slam the brakes with gigantic truck.
There's a bridge like this in Melbourne, Australia. It's a whole lot lower at 9.8ft but still has managed to cap the roofs off about 100+ vehicles over the past 6 years
The good old Montague Street bridge
Camera 🤳 action
There one near us it's off the main roads tho still once every few years a Tucker using Google maps gets taking that way and fs stuff up
There's one in Perth too, the Bayswater railway bridge, it even has it's own website with photo's and a counter that tells you how many days it's been since someone hit it, it's 5 days as of now 😂
Omg they need a camera on that one. It would be very popular.
LOL!! The "HOPE" truck, oh the irony 🤣🤣🤣
The sign should be changed from "over height must turn" to "YOU ARE OVER HEIGHT, TURN AWAY" because i think many people assume the sign isn't activated specifically for them but is just generally saying "IF you are over height turn away"
I totally agree. I had the same thought.
I hadn't thought of it that way but you're right and perhaps the more emphatic statement would help. However I don't have great hopes considering they should know and/or check with all the caution signs warning them.
It also raises confusion of what "over height" means. If I'm drivining a standard hauler, I might not think I'm "over height".
@@theriveracis5172 There are signs saying what the height is
@@tear4442
Are you going to tell me you know off hand the exact to the inch measurements of your car?
Imagine watching the video with your boss and trying to explain how u missed 2 regular signs and one HUGE BLINKING sign lol
@Troy Z the blinking sign is next to the traffic light, and when you're never ever supposed to be fixated on just one thing while driving, you should be looking around for other vehicles, pedestrians, and of course, signs and any flashing lights
@Troy Z Yes, but that's not a valid excuse for missing all the warnings and flashing lights
The original commenter's point still stands that the driver would hold all the fault
@Troy Z The light is about to turn red or fully red when a lot of them go through because the truck is overheight. It's part of the system they have set up. Overheight trucks trigger a sensor that starts flashing the message and turns the light red to hopefully give them time to realize that they are about to smash into it. The problem is most of these idiots are speeding to begin with so they mash on the gas to try and race the red.
Nooooo you don’t understaaaaaand, you can’t just expect truck drivers to not ignore road signs
@Troy Z No, and that's not the point, they're bad drivers and its entirely their fault for the damage to their trucks.
The human mind can only do one thing at a time, but it is fast in switching between things. As a responsible driver, one should always have safety in the back of their heads while driving. Check if there are any oncoming cars, if the light is RED, or if there is anything out of the ordinary RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU, like WARNING SIGNS or a GIANT FLASHING SIGN!
That old bent up girder (that was replaced on the bridge in 2019) would have made a good heirloom to hang somewhere with enough room. A lot of memories in that iron. ;-)
A lot of battle scars from trucks hitting it
Hang at the entrance of SWIFT main office
@@blauer2551
No 💩.
@@blauer2551 Nowadays, it's Schneider. SWIFT has gotten better since Knight bought them out.
shouldve given it to Yovo68 lol
Here in Tasmania, we have a system of a high gantry over the road, with around 20 pipes hanging down with chains, set to the height of the low bridge. Around 50 metres back from the bridge. If you hit them, they make a helluva noise, but cause no damage. Thus letting the driver know, they’re not gonna fit… easy…
Apparently they used to do that, but got over needing to fix the bridge when people just blew through it. Theres height sensors that flash that sign and turn the light red - hence the id10ts speeding up to beat the red as well. And 500m of intersections and signage before it.
It would be fantastic to see this channel 30 years from now...
Where the city engineers have gradually increased the clearance to 16’...
...and twice a month, people still manage to hit the bridge.
A truck hits a bump in the road and careens upwards, at just the right height to have it's top expertly removed by the bridge...
"What the HELL was that noise?"
"Must be another truck hitting the bridge....One gets used to it."
Imagine living there and waking up every couple of months with some really loud crashing noise. I'd wanna live there for the excitement lol but at the same time I wouldn't wanna live there cause I love sleep
Easy answer to stop this, it needs posts on the approaches with cow bells strung between them at the height of the bridge, if an overheight vehicle is going to hit the bridge it will hit the cow bells first and any driver with sense should stop. Much better than signs and flashing lights, problem almost solved. (you can't stop everyone no matter what is done)
The fun part for me is thinking about the people coming home from work who have had a bad day and get to see some idiot take the top off his box truck must make their day so much better after that
meow
More like
"Oh. The train track serving the purpose of a 50 times sized industrial can opener"
Only modification I can suggest to bridge is sharpen the over height guard so it creates a cleaner cut. Like a can opener
That’s what I was thinking
An angled blade would help too. Maybe serrated
Why do you want a cleaner cut?
@@Cacowninja cause it’ll be more satisfying
I think they should add some type of special effects, fireworks for example, that go off right after a truck hits that big hunk of steel.
"Overheight, must turn"
Average American truck driver: "Neuron activation. Must hit the gas. Full speed onto the bridge."
A moment's silence for the old guard rail. You did a fine job scalping idiots.
It's still there. Painted bright yellow and 6" higher lol
@@blue9multimediagroup thats a new one. Watch the video dude
@@blue9multimediagroup they just showed the old one bent to shit, laying beside the new one. 4:21
Stand corrected.
Same design though.
@@blue9multimediagroup than it is not the same lol
There is a similar bridge in my town, has had 0 crashes. The main reason is that a set of chains were installed, hanging some 300 ft. before the bridge. So if a truck hits them, it means it will not go through the bridge, giving it time to detour.
Great idea
Hey, we don't want that! It will take all our viewing pleasure away watching these idiots that don't know how to read.
Is your town in North Carolina?
Doesn't always work. A low bridge near me has chains also but they ignore those and still get stuck lol
@@victorburk2932 😂🤣😂
Most of the "victims" are driving rental trucks, meaning they aren't experienced with driving trucks and have probably learned to tune out signs talking about bridge height, since it is normally not relevant to them.
yeah i don’t get it why so many professional lorry drivers missed the signs, red lights, blinking warning.
I saw one rental truck..most are box trucks.. regular delivery trucks.
@@gutzzgutzz6795 Ryder and Penske trucks are rental trucks. There are several.
You would think by now the moving trucks in the area would tell people explicitly not to go under that bridge and threaten to make them pay for the truck if they do
Yes and no unexperienced drivers do rent them to move but a lot of experienced drivers drive them when there trucks are broke down and other reasons
that area is perfect for a truck roof repair shop, will have alot of truck roof repair work for years to come
You know that saying "give them an inch and they take the whole mile"?
This is the most literal example of that. You can fix the bridge or even some of those trucks but you can't fix stupid.
Congrats on using quotes correctly. Most people don't. :)
@@GeoEstes
That wasn’t correct. It’s “Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile”.
@@dr.OgataSerizawa Only if you're British. Americans put periods and commas inside the quotes, but other punctuation outside (like the question mark in the original post). However, you're right in that "give" should have been capitalized.
I also use this as an example of "there's no such thing as idiot-proof instructions."
I lived near this bridge for 10 years and have driven under here. The large majority of the drivers who get caught are driving rental trucks. You can see it in the videos. So they are mostly amateurs. Professional drivers of trucks know better.
You hope. 🇬🇧🇬🇧
I have seen several major carriers in the U.S. that use these rental trucks as a way of delivering goods from a central warehouse to customers within a specified radius. These are dedicated locals and are supposed to be professional drivers just like the OTR drivers.
That's what I was thinking.
Can we all just take a moment and appreciate the guy at 1:33 actually stopped and creeps forward just in case to avoid major damage!
Thanks for timing this correctly.
about once a week someone will time stamp after the moment their talking bout, which gets annoying.
Exactly. That guy, doesn't have to spend a couple grand or more repairing the truck cause he's not a dum dum.
No, I am not going to appreciate the guy because he's running with the red light
@@KyrieFortune Eh he's moving pretty slow, so I'd say he's walking the red light not running it.
He had Hope.
Up in Massachusetts we have a similar bridge rated at 11' 8". Train tracks passing over a road so low it floods with a heavy rain or snow, Extensive signage with blinking LED lights have reduced the crashes to a minimum.
The warning/skimmer bar should have a sharp edge so IR shears the tops off more cleanly. Glad I could provide my helpful input.
agreed, those nice curled peels are the best
Also prevents them from getting stuck and blocking traffic
I love how the bridge was designed so well it has taken 100s of impacts and hasnt budged.
The bridge hasn’t taken 100’s of impacts, the dedicated collision mitigation barrier has… the thing designed to do exactly what it does.
The barrier… not the bridge
until you look at 1:40
@@Ken.- I’m not sure what part that was, maybe the walkway, because those steel bridge bearers wouldn’t lift like that with that little impact. Good pickup though.
@@Nathanation88 That's not a walkway. That's the iron girder they put there so the trucks would hit it before they hit the bridge. That steel beam is supposed to take most of the damage and then be easily replaced when it gets too damaged.
There’s a 10’11” bridge in my hometown that gets hit so frequently they are trying to get the state to impose fines for hitting it. It’s probably the most fascinating thing about the area
Please tell us what city. So we can go watch.
@@jesse75 Search for Glenville Bridge, it’s in New York state. Unfortunately they don’t have cameras to monitor the actual strikes but there’s some pretty great footage of the aftermath.
Is that so the state can make money from it? Fines for speeding has worked so well on intentional speeders why not fine people who accidentally hit a bridge that will teach them.
@@Suds649 It’s because it’s technically on state land, but the town always ends up paying for everything
Hilarious to think that you don't fine people already, that's destruction of public property and failure to abide road law because you're ignoring traffic information a.k.a. not paying attention
My favorite one is the RV camper running the red light and rushing through the intersection. He just bought their self a several thousand dollar lesson.
Odd that they don't have a free hanging sign before the lights that says "if you hit this sign you will hit that bridge".
Sounds clever and so simple....but remember the drivers and City Council are also Simple.
That's how they do it in a lot of countries also in the US in some places.
That’s how it is in Canada. Really I don’t think it’s ignoring the signs and not knowing your truck is X Ft tall.
True now that you say that I have seen those in Kimball, tenn.
In all the underground parking I've seen they have a free swinging bar as a warning before they have any solid barriers.
I have seen in many other places a cross bar hanging from chains about a block ahead of low clearance bridges but set a few inches lower. Light weight enough to not do much damage but heavy enough to make a real loud noise. Some others use a curtain of chains hanging down to make a loud noise. These were done long before electronic signs.
Not feasible because it's right at the crossing, and trucks should be able to go the other 3 ways without getting scratched
How old are you?
@@edwardmoore5325 70
I used to work at McD's drive thru and they have that height clearance bar before drive thru. I've seen at many garages and drive thrus. If your vehicle hit the top of that bar then it won't fit. These stupid road engineers don't use them.
@@Critique808 They do, it's the yellow bar before the actual bridge
Ryder's car insurance must be thru the roof, so to speak.
nice,,,lol
I've heard the insurance the rental companies sell has an exclusion for damage resulting from driving through a low clearance situation. The person/company renting the trucks are probably having to pay for the damage without the aid of an insurance claim. They probably also have to reimburse the rental company for the lost rental revenue while the truck is being repaired.
If I had to rent a truck in that city I would definitely be looking for evidence to see if the top of the truck had been reskinned, just out of my own curiosity.
It is my understanding that the rental truck companies in the area explicitly tell the customers about the bridge and that it is not covered under the insurance. Well, that is what I read anyway...
and so does "PENSKE" too !
Truck training lesson one…observation. See, read, comprehend and, obey, EVERY sign!
Best comment around here. 👍🏻
It warms my heart to know that it’s still opening some cans ❤️
The legend continues
Ain't that the truth. 😂
It must be fed with truck roofs regularly
"OVERHEIGHT MUST TURN" Nah that doesn't apply to me in a truck - Truck driver
Truck Drivers: That sign can't stop me because I can't read.
The cheese grater effect is oddly more satisfying than the previous can opener.
😂😂👌
Bro, you are genius!
😂😂😂😂😂😂
No. I prefer those videos where the guard rail chews into the box trucks and lifts the front wheels off the ground.
We have a similar situation with a bridge in my city. The city installed a warning system that sets off warning bells and lights well before a truck that’s too tall reaches the bridge. Even so, we still have a couple drivers a year who ignore the warnings and get stuck.
@5:30 the truck keeps going…wow.
As a retired truck driver, there are bridges like this all over the country. Drivers are responsible for seeing the signs. In the north east, we were told the sign reading 11’8” may actually be 12’0”, but as roads get repaved and maintained, never trust the signs. 11’8” could be 11’6”.
If the crew repaving the road is just laying new over old, a bigger problem exists, but yes, I would give myself a 4” buffer to what the sign says. Even road camber or bumps/bouncing can make the corner of the truck stick up slightly higher than the stationary truck height.
This happened to a guy I knew, on the way out of town, he crawled his truck under the bridge knowing he should have just about enough clearance and he did, by the most minimal of margins, so on the way back, loaded with cargo, he figured he could just drive through and pealed his truck, unbeknownst to him that the road had been repaved.
Let's just look at the statistics. Ideally, it wouldn't happen because people can just read the signs. However, in practice this doesn't happen. It looks like the scope of human behavior can't prevent this because it still happens, and instead of blaming everyone who hits it, let's just keep trying to raise it. Human behavior and is somewhat fixed in place, with changes being able to be made individually. But with that known, and the fact this still happens, just change the bridge.
@@ZentaBon it’s completely uneconomical and impractical to change the bridge. I support additional warning methods, but it’s not to save a few people embarrassment, it’s because the stupid driver is often not the one to be most impacted by their actions (financial, business or injury wise). The cheapest way to deal with it is ban all trucks from going under; there are two level crossings within a few hundred yards of that point. The next cheapest is to piggyback off existing systems, and implement an unsophisticated active warning system. I suggested an array of maybe 5 or 6 stepper motors attached to the back of the collision barrier, which rotate a 2-3’ long foam, hi-vis warning object, 90 degrees down into the path of the approaching truck. They could be anything as simple as a pool noodle, or a small foam stop sign. It’s only 2-3’, so normal cars can pass, without issue. They would be flexible, in case there’s non-over height trucks on the same group of traffic, or if the still ignore it and collide.
All of the infrastructure is already there (support structure, sensors and electrical equipment). The hardest routing the power too it (not really that hard). It can be low voltage, for safety, and it’s super cheap.
Had one of these by the repo yard I worked at, brought an RV once and hit the top, was going slow enough to turn around, lesson learned
I love how a lot of the vehicles are rental trucks. Once I was in a Penski in Chicago and my buddy was driving. I screamed STOP! He did and asked why. I said the bridge is 12.3 and we're 12.8 (I could be off on the heights but it works for the story). Fortunately a friendly cop came along and helped us back up to an off ramp, so no harm.
Hope your friend bought dinner that night.
One thing that should be mentioned. Railroad track by necessity must be as straight and level as possible. Even the raising of the tracks 8" was mainly done for the safety of the trains using the track. Raising it further or lowering it further would both be detrimental to the trains using it. Hence why raising it had nothing to do with preventing accidents. Also both the train and road route are busy important routes by the looks of it, so moving them would be too complicated and expensive for the sake of a few non-lethal accidents.
Yeah a truck hitting a bridge is much much better than a train derailing and crashing into oncoming traffic
Freight railroads use a ridiculously low power to weight ratio, which why they need the extremely flat grades.
There are ways of raising the clearance without raising the tracks, but it would require completely redesigning the bridge to put all the supports on top, e.g. cable stays. This would also reduce the margin between the rails and the guard rail which could reduce safety.
Giovanni Cervantes : watch the video again, those trucks actually never hit the bridge itsef, but just the metal bar in front of it. And that does a pretty darn good job of catching all of it.
@@chrisd8265 you know what i meant damn it!
Thank you for your book report on this video.
You can go back to your desk now, little champ.
There was a low railroad bridge near me (10' 5") that was also a narrow 10' 6" wide one lane underpass. It was controlled by a traffic signal. Only a few trucks hit the bridge. My state lowered the road and now the clearance is 10'11" and widened the road to two 12' lanes with wide shoulders. Unfortunately, now the bridge is hit more frequently. They could not lower the road more because there's a creek about 20' before the underpass. They should have left the bridge at 10' 5" with the narrow one lane road under the bridge.
4:30 RIP old guard rail! You did a great service!
Would of been nice if they preserved it, but it was more likely melted for scrap.
And imagine all the truck drivers that lost work or their jobs,over this mistake,speaking from experience myself,I didn't rip the whole roof of mind, but slowly went under a small bridge in a flat bed trailer!?caught the upright head board steel bent it as I came out,and lost work when it was reported back!?😕
It had a good life and served with honour. It deserves a comfortable retirement, someplace nice, where it can regale the younger guard rails with its experiences.
@@epiendless1128 It was sent to live with a nice farm family upstate but it's really hard to get there so we can never visit.
How many trucks did it open
2:19 I love how he stops and examines the situation for a while and then runs into it anyway lmao
It has 'hope' on the side....
"Lemme see... 11'8"... truck height says 12'6"... yeah, this'll work!"
_B O N K_
@@AngelEmfrbl I noticed that too!! 😂😂😂
Probably flipped a coin heads he goes thru tails he turns around but he ended up with heads so he goes thru
He even opens his door to check. Say “yeah yeah, im low enough, this will work”
After the inevitable crash,the sign should read "F**king told you".
Rat Race movie - "Should have bought a squirrel" LOL
needs to be after the bridge so the idiots can go "I didnt see a sign" INSERT VIDEO HERE "...fuck"
Nice space on the other side for an electronic sign right in their faces.
@@cronopoly344 I’m a squirrel!!!!
With no name and no nuts, please adopt me
In Europe, there are large rubber bands hanging over the street at the exact same height the bridge is at, this a bit before the bridge, the trucks which are too high will hit them without any damage but the noise it makes is enough to alert the drivers who can then turn before the bridge. Not sure why this not used in the US as it is cheap and effective
Apparently they used to do that, but got tired of needing to fix the bridge when people just blew through the indicator. There's height sensors that flash the OVERHEIGHT MUST TURN and turn the light red - hence the id10ts speeding up to beat the red as well. And 500m of intersections and signage before it.
Old rail should go to the Farmer’s Insurance museum.
"We cover everything because we've seen everything."
WE
ARE
FARMERS
BOM PA BOM PA BOM PA PA!!
Gold plate that I beam
Driver: "Just a little off the top please."
"Ah, that's good. I'll be fine on the next trip."
how long will the new guard rail last before it's as badly bent as the old guard rail? any guess's cause you can't stop stupid people from hitting it so might as well take a guess
In Australia, it’s common that low bridges and tunnels have lights and bells like a rail crossing. Trucks height is checked by simple laser, if too high it sets off lights.
this bridge has lights as well. if fact the light even goes red so you literally have to run a red light to hit it
I love these videos because I once totaled a rental truck in a similar manner, but with an overhanging tree branch. The tree branch ripped off the top of the truck just like you see in these videos. The damage was extraordinary.
Overheight ... pls turn now!!
Trucks: *Ah Yes Gotta go straight*
Ok in all fairness a lot of the trucks getting damaged are rental trucks for moving And they likely don’t think they won’t fit
@@bruhayy3331 r/wooosh
@@jubilhdmusic3930 wasn’t a joke but ok
@@bruhayy3331 You are supposed to know what your height is. That is why there always was a tape in my baggage.
@@bruhayy3331 No, if i rent something , i must be extremly carefully, because of my lack of experience. Tt is better to make slow, look 2 or 3 times. AND to use the b r a i n.
They should make a ramp so trucks can jump it.
They don't have enough run-up distance to make the speed they'd need. With truck gearing, that could take miles!
@@xheralt don't try too hard man
😂
Modern problems require modern solutions.
😂😂😂
Most of the box trucks are rentals. They're giving Joe Shmo (whose never been in anything bigger than a minivan) the keys and saying, "Have a nice day!"
Many of these rental trucks probably are professional drivers, but in a truck that's new to them; their company has leased a truck to augment their own fleet. It's hard to guess at a glance but in my own experience a large truck with a hydraulic liftgate is more likely to be of a class that requires a professional driver. Yoo-halls that rent to the rest of us more commonly have ramps instead (fewer amputations!) and height decals pretty prominent in the driver's field of view. Not to say there aren't a lot of roofs peeled back even so.
@@cc-to But, if it's Saturday morning, some Joe Shmo is moving his apt DIY.
that's why I always pay full premium on the rental insurance when i rent a car, van or truck. Moved many times. And yes, I look at the signs. If I damage the vehicle, i know I'm covered but the hassle and embarrassment of bringing back a damaged vehicle back scares me lol
And I was wondering how come so many Ryder trucks end up there. That explains it.
Those rental trucks have their height plastered all over the inside and outside for penske, you see it in the cab and your reiwview mirrors, people refuse to read
It is very funny oh yes! When ever I’m down and gloomy, I come here to watch. When the numb of nutt mess up it an utter delight- there is nothing so funny as watching someone else make expensive mistake thank you thank you 😂
Syracuse has one at 10'9".
8 warning signs, restricted road, no commercial traffic, painted road, laser reporting system and still idiots hit the bridge.
6:25 this dude was speeding AND ran a redlight. He was going to cause an accident no matter what happened
Sloppy work ethic.
And there's a heavily pedestrian area -- along with another light -- barely a hundred meters beyond that bridge. Some of these people are going too fast no matter what.
Why do some people have to endanger other driver's lives just because they don't want to sit at a red light? People suck
@@AbbaZabbaOlyFrn If, instead of airbags, a spike shot out of the steering wheel, we would have no accidents.
@@Debonair.Aristocrat Well that wouldn’t be very good for dealership sales now would it
Considering most of those trucks are rentals...nothing will change.
Rentals don't cover the roof. They have to pay for it. Might not change, but karma is a bitch
I used to work for Ryder. Its mainly a logistics company and maybe 10% rental.
@@AVeryOldLady4397 they can send the bills to the bridge construction company
@@steve00alt70 they can send the bill to who owns the bridge all they want. The city isn't going to pay for a mistake made by an idiot who doesn't know how to drive a truck. It's the drivers responsibility to pay for the damage that they caused by their poor choices.
The driver at 2:14 proves that even with a truckload of hope, you can’t wish your way under the can opener.
I’ve lived in Durham for most of my life, and this is a constant source of entertainment. What most people don’t know is that there’s another 11’8 bridge for the same tracks about ten blocks away, but it’s a bit more obvious so it doesn’t get quite as many canopenings as this one.
I think I know what bridge you're talking about... there's a similar bridge on N. Roxboro St. as you approach the Downtown Loop that sits even lower than the Gregson St. bridge...
It must not be a major route that heavy traffic uses
I drove trucks with heights in excess of 12 ft for 25 years. I never hit a bridge, because it’s the responsibility of the driver to know the height of his/ her vehicle and not take stupid chances.
Exactly. Notice most of the trucks hitting it are rentals, so we know what that means... KNOW YOUR HEIGHT PEOPLE, AND PAY ATTENTION TO THE FREAKING SIGNS!!!!
My guess is since they are mostly rentals it’s probably people who have never driven a truck that tall so they don’t know the check for Clarence
@@ralan350 they also can't read signs it clearly says overheight must turn but signs are invisible to these people
Like I said my guess is they’re not used to having to pay attention to vehicle heights therefore they’re not paying attention to anything except the road directly in front of them and are pretty much ignoring everything else
@@ralan350
People should at least be aware of the fact that they’re no longer driving a car.
If you’re driving a vehicle and don’t take a few minutes to be aware of the dimensions of said vehicle, then you absolutely have no business driving it.
Years ago when I was driving truck I took my first load into NYC and came across multiple bridges with low height signs of like 12.6, 12.9 ect.. and being 13.6 I had pulled over and put my flashes on and proceeded to try and figure out how I could get out of this mess as there was no turns. Well after about 10 minutes of sitting there, I had watched multiple other trucks pass on through, so I proceeded to crawl slowly with flashers on and made it through. As I was passing through another truck came by and hollered on the radio that all these bridges are 13.6 and I would be fine, that the city marks them low so they cannot be sued incase of an accident.
I've often wondered where this bridge is and if some of the drivers just don't take the signs serious because of past experiences, like driving in NYC. I know personally I hated going to NYC for many reasons, but the bridges were a big one, as in many cases you had no choice but to go under them. And while I always fit, it was nerve wracking as the signs suggested otherwise.
Know the feeling, been there got the teeshirt.🤣🤣 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
It could be but more realistically it's probably just forgetting the actual hight and sending it
I feel you mate. Having to go through all that sweat and right afterwards, having to spend some time around Newyorkers.
In NY State itself all signs are lower than actually height by 3 inches as said by some drivers
There are also white sign clearances that account for a foot of snow packing something a wrecker had to let me know about.
When re-machining the top of a truck body, cutting speed should never be below 40 MPH if you want a nice, clean cut.
6:22 Runs the red at more-than-full-speed, receives instant karma. *chef's kiss*
Sucks that this obvious point of conflict stays, but that was a nice side-effect.
yup there goes that guy's ac
If only he went faster, semi-truck to flat bed conversion without stopping.
$2000 minimum in AC repair lmao get destroyed
That one that says HOPE! The guy even stopped to look and decided to continue. I lost it 😂
I lose it at budget moving
He hoped
I thought "oh here is a driver who is aware and safety conscious" Nope!
“Over height” isn’t very threatening. Maybe a red or orange sign that says YOU TOO TALL, CRASH NOW DUMMY” would work. 😏
In our local town we have red lights flashing, massive signs, automatic hight measurements and lorries / trucks still hit the bridge - I used to drive lorries / trucks myself and I never understood how drivers can hit bridges - even when I rented vans / trucks I measured the hight - never even trusted the stickers inside - and if those stickers were wrong, wrote myself a notice and stuck it to windshield to not forget ... Never hit a bridge ... ever
a small laser on some of the buildings ahead of the bridge and a guy in post to see what trucks he has to stop
ow the laser went off must mean it is to high (ps i wonder how many trucks would have made it with a heavier load or lower setting on possible air suspension on the trucks
a real "YOU SHALL NOT PASS" would be enough in flashing red with a large scale Gandlaf picture.
@@clementwolf4081 I doubt they have air suspension on the American trucks. They use springs like the Europeans used too 30 years ago.
The light at the intersection right in front of the bridge literally turns red whenever an overheight truck approaches. That's why you see so many of them in this video gunning the engine and hitting that thing so fast. They're running the red light. If they're going to do that, there's no sign at all that is going to stop them.