In a statement Network Rail recently discussed the number of incidents caused by lorry drivers around bridges.
In the past 2 days there have been 4 clashes at bridges, causing hours of delays to their trains for commuters along with the motorists who would need to use the bridge. One lorry driver drove into a bridge and overturned while travelling through Birmingham despite plenty of signs warning them of the bridge’s height along the way.
Trains travelling on the line between Birmingham New Street and Lichfield, Staffordshire were delayed for the rest of the day.
This was made worse when another lorry crashed into another bridge in Lichfield around 5:30 later that same day.
Over the course of 2016-2017 the bridge was hit 13 times. On Thursday, bridges in London, Langwathby, Cumbria and West Ruislip were hit by lorries.
Network Rail spoke out, demanding an end to the"entirely avoidable stupidity of lorry drivers who crash into bridges because they don't know the height of their vehicles".
Chief operating officer for London North Western route, Mark Killick, had his own view on the matter: "There's no excuse for this. Lorry drivers should know their vehicle's height and width, not guess and hope for the best.
"Despite being very clearly marked, these bridges were driven into by irresponsible drivers, causing unnecessary disruption to railway and road users.
"We will be doing all we can to reclaim the costs we incurred from the haulage companies responsible."
Over the course of 2016-2017 there were 1,774 bridges struck which was up 32 on the year beforehand. Some lorry drivers are given routes by transport managers and don’t notice the route doesn’t suit them until it is too late, while others simply do not know the height of their vehicles which is usually the cause of these accidents.
Further prevention of these incidents is possible with trucking sat-navs, which constantly update routes to match the areas vehicles can travel. Meaning lorries won’t be travelling the routes that have bridges too low for their vehicle which can just become a huge risk for the driver, any of the vehicles around the bridge or those walking underneath the bridge.