Network Rail has launched a new campaign to educate lorry drivers about the dangers of low bridges.

The new campaign, Lorries Can’t Limbo, is aimed at professional HGV drivers and aims to encourage them to “wise up and size up” their vehicle and to plan their route.

The number of bridge strikes last year across the rail network went up. This made it the worst year for bridge strikes for five years. Each year there are about 2000 railway bridge strikes. Each one costs more than £10,000 for repairs and compensation to train operators for delays caused.

Research by Network Rail found that 43% of lorry drivers admit to not checking their height before setting off, with 52% admitting to not taking low bridges into account.

The campaign focuses on ‘the four E’s’:

• Education of drivers and employers
• Engineering and signage
• Enablement technology in HGV cabs
• Enforcement of penalties

What did the officials say?

Mark Wheel, senior engineer at Network Rail explains:

“Day to day, HGV drivers and decision-makers have to address different demands or distractions. We know that bridge strikes are a pertinent issue for a majority of drivers and decision-makers. However, there are many other challenges which often appear more immediate. Bridge strikes are not always ‘front and centre’ and drivers often need to be challenged to consider them, especially outside the confines of their regular depots or destinations.

“We have worked across the industry to develop a campaign together with our partners, using their knowledge and expertise about their audience. Rather than alienate drivers the campaign aims to be collaborative. We want to work with drivers and support them to help them be as prepared when they are out on the road and we wanted to develop something that the industry could continue to use and will be of benefit to them. We hope this collaborative approach will help to drive down the number of strikes we see across the rail network.”

Faced with the prospect of losing his livelihood and summoned to court on a charge of dangerous driving, Dougie, 38 from West Calder, wished he had realised the importance of checking the height of his vehicle before setting off on the road.

“I thought I had done everything right, but I was complacent and I know I should have checked the vehicle height myself. The thing is, it’s not just a slap on the wrist for a bridge strike: the authorities will seek to take your license off you – the consequences of a bridge strike are extremely serious. That means you can’t work and you will lose your livelihood. Dangerous driving carries a minimum penalty of a 12 month driving ban and an extended retest of your car license. Lawyer bills can run into thousands of pounds. It can happen really easily, but is also easily preventable. The frustrating thing is, I know this stuff! My life is based around the transport industry. I don’t just drive trucks, I write about them for magazines and work with a driver training company too.

“If I could give one piece of advice I would just say make sure you check your height, keep an up-to-date HGV road atlas with bridge heights in the cab, and always stay aware of your surroundings! Once you’re out on the road you are responsible.

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