Comment posted Overnight closures for Connel Bridge for repairs to damage caused by high truck by Robert Wakeham.
At the risk of Ferryman accusing me of not being a regular user of the Connel Bridge (I plead guilty) I’d like to know why – to the best of my knowledge – there’s no form of overhead warning barrier that triggers stop lights if an overheight vehicle approaches the bridge? This type of ‘fail-safe’ precaution is common enough in some European countries – for example, at level crossings where there’s an overhead electric line.
In this country any construction site involving traffic under low power lines will be legally required to have ‘goalposts’, and it leaves me wondering if the trunk road authority is asleep – or maybe their managing agents get a percentage of the cost of repairing the likes of Connel Bridge? I just can’t believe that the cost of repairs – and disruption – is outweighed by the cost of fitting effective safety warnings.
Robert Wakeham also commented
- In that case perhaps a reliable stop light system with flashing ‘overheight’ warning would be the obvious failsafe system – the flashing speed signs at the southern entrance to Inveraray and on Great Western Road near Drumchapel are very noticeable.
- What I’ve seen in some places is a hefty steel pipe suspended from cables over the road – no electrical system to go wrong, but a driver would have to be deaf or drunk not to be aware of a ‘hit’. (having said that, I wonder what was the driver’s excuse at Connel if – as it would appear – he ploughed on for some distance after hitting the first girder?)
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At the risk of Ferryman accusing me of not being a regular user of the Connel Bridge (I plead guilty) I’d like to know why – to the best of my knowledge – there’s no form of overhead warning barrier that triggers stop lights if an overheight vehicle approaches the bridge? This type of ‘fail-safe’ precaution is common enough in some European countries – for example, at level crossings where there’s an overhead electric line.
In this country any construction site involving traffic under low power lines will be legally required to have ‘goalposts’, and it leaves me wondering if the trunk road authority is asleep – or maybe their managing agents get a percentage of the cost of repairing the likes of Connel Bridge? I just can’t believe that the cost of repairs – and disruption – is outweighed by the cost of fitting effective safety warnings.
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there are warning signs linked to a lazer beam – to the south and the north.
notoriously unreliable.
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What I’ve seen in some places is a hefty steel pipe suspended from cables over the road – no electrical system to go wrong, but a driver would have to be deaf or drunk not to be aware of a ‘hit’. (having said that, I wonder what was the driver’s excuse at Connel if – as it would appear – he ploughed on for some distance after hitting the first girder?)
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There is also a physical bar to warn drivers but with the lorries stereo on full you might not notice it even if you do hit it. Drivers are supposed to know what the height of their vehicles are and read the signs.
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In that case perhaps a reliable stop light system with flashing ‘overheight’ warning would be the obvious failsafe system – the flashing speed signs at the southern entrance to Inveraray and on Great Western Road near Drumchapel are very noticeable.
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As linnhe says, there is a recently-installed system of vehicle height sensors linked to NADIX-type display boards/flashing lights, but there have been some ‘teething troubles’ with these.
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