Few things can ruin a driver’s day like a bridge strike. According to the Eastern Transportation Coalition, 100% of those types of crashes are avoidable.
That’s why the group is launching a campaign to encourage awareness among commercial drivers and the general public regarding bridge strikes.
The week of July 27 through July 31, the Coalition agencies, along with various agencies across the U.S., are conducting a Bridge Strike Mitigation Campaign. With the tagline “Check Your Height, Know It’s Right,” the campaign aims to educate and remind drivers to check their height before operating a vehicle and to always follow traffic signage rather than their navigation device.
“Across the country, drivers often rely on GPS mapping tools that do not acknowledge the height of non-passenger vehicles and therefore do not alert drivers of potential low bridge clearances,” the group said in a statement. “Bridge strikes damage vehicles and infrastructure, cause delays, put drivers of such vehicles and other motorists at risk, as well as law enforcement, first responders, and DOT maintenance staff and others when responding to the scene.”
The campaign encourages commercial drivers to check their vehicle’s height before driving under bridges, especially in areas they may be unfamiliar with.
The campaign also emphasizes the importance of not relying on GPS/navigation systems and being aware of signage, particularly bridge heights.
To support the industry, the Coalition is offering a toolkit developed by its Bridge Strike Mitigation Task Force Working Group to increase awareness of the dangers of bridge strikes. The toolkit also includes strategies used by other transportation agencies to mitigate bridge strikes.
For more information about the Eastern Transportation Coalition’s campaign, or to gain access to the online toolkit, contact Sabrina Causley at [email protected]. LL
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