Buried 0 #1 March 16, 2007 What isn't there to get about 12'6" and a NO TRUCKS sign? So I got stuck in traffic for about 40 min while this struck was pulled out from where it slid in. Now this isn't unique. this is the 4th or 5th truck i've seen do this at the exact spot over the last 3-3.5 yrs. I wonder how many i miss. Where is my fizzy-lifting drink? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grue 1 #2 March 16, 2007 That sort of shit cracks me up. If I know how tall my car is, there's no reason not to know how tall your truck is. There's really no legitimate excuse for that sort of thing.cavete terrae. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fallinbear 0 #3 March 16, 2007 lol....freakin iddddjutts!!!!!! Been there, seen that, got the road rage.I don't want to make all the decisions because if I screw up, then I can't blame it on you... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
willard 0 #4 March 16, 2007 That happens a lot. Our shop repaired/salvaged many trailers that were low-bridged over the years. The causes are pretty simple. Either the proper signage wasn't in place to give advance warning (or was difficult/impossible to see), the driver didn't know the height of his trailer, or the driver was given bad information. In any case it is the sole responsibility of the driver to know if his rig will make it through. This driver has no excuse for what happened here. He just plain screwed up. My brother has been a professional trucker for over 25 years and has app. 3.5 million miles without a single accident. One thing he always complains about is the quality of new drivers on the road. The industry is so hard up for people to drive that intelligence is not even a consideration. Many new drivers can't even read a road map...no joke! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pfloyd 0 #5 March 16, 2007 Its not like a trucker needs a degree to do his job But they should at least be able to read! My drinking team has a skydiving problem Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stratostar 5 #6 March 16, 2007 Have you ever driven a big rig? My guess is no you have not. So you really have no idea how easy it is to miss a sign that for one is not on the bridge it's self and off to the side. Most signs are posted on the bridge and that is where one would be looking for it. Seeing how you have not logged ANY miles in a big rig you couldn't even start to understand what it might be like to take a big rig into a town you have never been to and navigate your way around. Have you ever been to NYC? I have a number of times and each trip was in a big rig, nothing like taking your first trip to NYC and crossing the BQE to find every overpass marked 12-6 when it is really 13-6, so those signs are not always correct. My guess is your one of the stupid four wheelers who drive around big trucks like a jackass, untill you go out a log 150,000 miles a year in a big rig you have no real clue as to how easy one could have this happen and how stupid people in four wheelers drive. There is a lot more going on in the cab and it is very easy to not see every sign posted and this bridge is posted wrong and the sign is hiding off to the side and among to many other signs. Go get behind the wheel of one then you might get clue.you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #7 March 16, 2007 I have seen some approaches to a low bridge that has hanging cylinders suspended over the road with a warning sign saying something like "If you hit these..." I don't remember the rest... They should have these standardized all over. Any trucker will know if he hits those cylinders that he's not going to make it through the bridge, unless of course, he can't read English or whatever language he speaks... "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 7 #8 March 16, 2007 Don't hold it all in 'Star'...tell us how you REALLY feel! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Buried 0 #9 March 16, 2007 QuoteEither the proper signage wasn't in place to give advance warning (or was difficult/impossible to see), the driver didn't know the height of his trailer, or the driver was given bad information. you can see in the pics... 4 signs - 1)the height on light rail 2) the height indicated on the top part of the bridge 3) a no trucks visual sign 4) a worded no trucks sign. plus any truckers driving through chicago should know that they are not allowed on LSD (not the drug, they can still do that_ *edit - looks like there are 5 signs.. another "no trucks" on the top part of the bridge too. Where is my fizzy-lifting drink? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Buried 0 #10 March 16, 2007 QuoteDon't hold it all in 'Star'...tell us how you REALLY feel! ha, yeah. I'm glad he generalized it to all truckers. like everything, there are good and bad ones. the rest doesn't need a comment unless you are buying Where is my fizzy-lifting drink? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
b1jercat 0 #11 March 16, 2007 He could have been busy peeing in a bottle and missed the sign. blues jerry Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
monkycndo 0 #12 March 16, 2007 My 80+ year old Auntie used to drive around a HUGE Rv. She wouldn't go anywhere unless she did it in comfort. Not sure of the name, but she always carried around a book that listed the "No Truck/ Low Clearance" roads for the entire USA. She said she never came across a road that should have been listed, but wasn't. Seems like every driver hitting an unfamiliar city should carry a copy so they don't get their oooops posted just like this guy.50 donations so far. Give it a try. You know you want to spank it Jump an Infinity Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
willard 0 #13 March 16, 2007 QuoteQuoteEither the proper signage wasn't in place to give advance warning (or was difficult/impossible to see), the driver didn't know the height of his trailer, or the driver was given bad information. you can see in the pics... 4 signs - 1)the height on light rail 2) the height indicated on the top part of the bridge 3) a no trucks visual sign 4) a worded no trucks sign. plus any truckers driving through chicago should know that they are not allowed on LSD (not the drug, they can still do that_ *edit - looks like there are 5 signs.. another "no trucks" on the top part of the bridge too. His dispatcher also should have known not to send him there. Of course, he could have ignored his dispatchers directions and taken a shortcut. Then, when he saw all the signs, figured they were for other people and didn't apply to him. With all the signage around I would be surprised if he still had a job after the mess he caused. One time a driver wanted to confirm directions to his next drop, so we gave him directions around a low clearance bridge. He ignored us (to save about two miles) and wedged his truck under the bridge. We knew what happened when we heard it hit. Nice thing was that we got the job of fixing his trailer...cha-ching! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stratostar 5 #14 March 16, 2007 chicago, well no fucking wonder..... Again till you been trying to get around in a big rig, don't knock it. Just like someone bouncing, could happen to the best of them. I would love to see how well your rookie ass could handle it in any major city, I have trucked in every major city in the USA and many of those were the first time to that city like NYC and in a big rig. In fact the only times I have been to NYC was in a truck, there can be a lot of pucker factor on a trip like that. I have never topped a trailer for the record, but I have taken more then one 13-6 under a bridge marked 12-6, some were marked wrong and others it was a good thing I had a load on the wagon, you ever try to do a u-turn in downtown Boston with a 85 foot long rig? Yes the industry is in really bad shape and they will take any one they can get to drive, many shouldn't be behind the wheel of a car let alone a truck. I did 20 years driving and very glad to be off the road with the idiots in cars and trucks trying to kill you and the all free proctology screenings from the DOT, eating like shit every meal and getting 2 hour naps for sleep all week and the rest of the shit you will never understand till you go trucking.you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingbunky 3 #15 March 16, 2007 been there, seem that. haven't hit any bridges, but there is one in montreal that i crept under at below walking speed and i could see a little puff of concrete dust fall from the bridge for each rivet on the top of my trailer. new york state overstates clearances by a foot, to account for snow buildup i was told. i've been off the road for about a dozen years now and saw my share of stupid truck drivers, but way more than my share of stupid four-wheelers. it's like anything though, you don't notice the vast majority of vehicles you share the road with because they don't do anything stupid. trucks are big and attract a lot of attention, so when they do something stupid, it's generally pretty spectacular."Hang on a sec, the young'uns are throwin' beer cans at a golf cart." MB4252 TDS699 killing threads since 2001 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflychris 0 #16 March 16, 2007 Thats why they call it Dope. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
willard 0 #17 March 16, 2007 I guess one good thing about trucking is that the really stupid drivers weed themselves out in short order. Hopefully they just get too many tickets or dumb one vehicle accidents and nobody gets hurt. One driver I met I knew would not last long. He knew for a FACT that the more weight a truck was carrying the faster they could stop. Uh, yep, here's yer sign buddy! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingbunky 3 #18 March 16, 2007 that's a nice thought, but it seemed to me at the time that for every idiot that got burned out, fired, or darwin'd himself, there were three more that were waiting to take his place. "Hang on a sec, the young'uns are throwin' beer cans at a golf cart." MB4252 TDS699 killing threads since 2001 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ccsayre 0 #19 March 16, 2007 Wow! Glad to see other ex-truckers out here. I too started driving big trucks in 1971. bought my 1st in 1976, retired from driving in 1989. I learned in Chicago with dry vans and refers. things have changed a lot, but there are still lots of morons on the roads even with the CDL. But one thing that hasn't changed, just like aircraft, pilot/driver in command makes the decision. The bottom line is if you hit a viaduct, it's your fault. Luck is Preparation meeting Opportunity Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingbunky 3 #20 March 16, 2007 hmmmm, in 71 i was 6 years old! i got to the point where it was buy my own rig, or get out of the game altogether. i had two young kids at the time and an opportunity to go back to school for free came up and i took it. there's days when i'd trade my cube for a cab though."Hang on a sec, the young'uns are throwin' beer cans at a golf cart." MB4252 TDS699 killing threads since 2001 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ccsayre 0 #21 March 16, 2007 Ha! No shit! I do transportation consulting now, and a day does not go by where I momentarily wish I was just worrying about stupid 4 wheelers instead of customers. But for what responsibilities a driver has, it's not worth it any more IMO. Luck is Preparation meeting Opportunity Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sunshine 2 #22 March 16, 2007 QuoteHe could have been busy peeing in a bottle and missed the sign So i guess revjim was driving... ___________________________________________ meow I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jdthomas 0 #23 March 16, 2007 QuoteIts not like a trucker needs a degree to do his job But they should at least be able to read! I guess it's not a degree but I have 40 credit hours and a certificate from a college when i went thru thier truck driving school.. I worked in the medical field and hauled liquid oxygen to pt's homes to fill thier tanks.. Joewww.greenboxphotography.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
willard 0 #24 March 16, 2007 QuoteQuoteIts not like a trucker needs a degree to do his job But they should at least be able to read! I guess it's not a degree but I have 40 credit hours and a certificate from a college when i went thru thier truck driving school.. I worked in the medical field and hauled liquid oxygen to pt's homes to fill thier tanks.. Joe My bro pulls 11,000 gallon LPG tankers. What is needed for that job can't be taught in any school...a higher than normal amount of common sense, situational awareness, and patience. Plus it helps that nothing rattles him. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingbunky 3 #25 March 16, 2007 my first trucking job was pulling a 50,000 litre gas tanker around the maritimes. never even drove a straight truck before that."Hang on a sec, the young'uns are throwin' beer cans at a golf cart." MB4252 TDS699 killing threads since 2001 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
