West Somerset Railway General Discussion

A regular 'target' in my area is the bridge over the B3108 just to the north of the former Limpley Stoke station - usually about one strike a month!

Ironically I drove under it this morning and noticed the first height restriction road sign as you approached the bridge from the Bath direction is well and truly hidden in the hedge!! It's only when you turn the corner just before the bridge that you actually see the bridge and the height sign on the bridge girders only a few yards ahead :-(

 

The GWSR got so tired of drivers striking the Broadway bridge that they gave up and implemented the Hitchhiker's Guide heavy metal beam solution. ("Mr. Prosser: Do you know how much damage this bulldozer would sustain if I just let it roll over you? ... None at all.") It collects about one vehicle a month.

Noel

 

Unsurprisingly, the bridge was damaged. It has been examined and is now safe for trains to pass over. [BJ]

 

For those of us who choose to use maps, this is an increasing problem - road signs buried in the overgrowth. I suppose when a council faces budget cuts, keeping signs clear goes in the bin - perhaps thinking "well, everybody's got satnav now, haven't they?"

 

Satnav is often a contributory cause of bridge strikes, when drivers rely on it instead of planning their routes. There is a long discussion on railforums.co.uk following the recent strike near Bedworth on the WCML.

 

People turning their own brains off, and relying blindly on computers, is a common fault in this age, especially where vehicle navigation is concerned. Some of the more memorable ones there include the person who went for a shortish local drive, but wound up in Italy (couldn't find that one, it was about a decade ago), and the person who drove their car into the sea (that was recent). But it kills people too; there's even a term for that now: Death by GPS. 'Think of it as evolution in action.'

Noel

 

Re Broadway Bridge incidents: someone told me about 40% of hgv drivers don’t check the height of their vehicle.

 

It is definitely a hazard,

My driving habits have changed with sat nav.
I tend to have it running in the background but muted so I can glance at it if I need it, but it will also ping alerts for traffic.

HGV ones I have come across do have settings you can set for limited clearance.

Chris

 

The problem is that lorry owners wont pay for specialist HGV sat navs so drivers use their own phones

 

There are specific satnav systems for lorries that take into account the height of the vehicle and route accordingly. It's when a car system - or worse still, a smartphone - are used.

 

Changing the subject, does anyone know what's likely to be hauling the Quantock Belle Saturday week?

 

Or as happened here in Dorset when the signs that were too dirty to read were started to be cleaned by locals, not allowed under H & S.