Eastern Railroad Discussion > Duhhh! ...and we share the roads with these drivers?

This is what happens when you only have 2 weeks of driver training.

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- A semitrailer accident on Second Street in Harrisburg caused some delays for Monday morning commuters.

Police said the J.B. Hunt tractor-trailer ran into the Amtrak bridge around 4 a.m.

News 8 reported that it was the driver\'s first day on the job. Instead of wedging the big rig, she just kept going, which ripped the traileropen.


The trailer was filled with the base for Wendy\'s chili. Crews are trying to clean up the accident and unload the trailer.

The bridge is posted as being 12 feet, 6 inches tall, which is lower than most bridges. It is a problem area. The city said not all tractor-trailers get stuck, but many times big rig drivers get up to the bridge and realize they can\'t get through and have to call police. Traffic is backed up while police try to get them out. The city said there are signs before the bridge, warning drivers so semitrailer drivers can avoid it.

When I used to live in metro New York, I recall that once or twice a month, the radio traffic report would mention that a tractor trailer had "wandered onto" one of the parkways and either had to be backed off or had hit one of the really low overpasses (10\' or lower). It never failed to amaze me that a driver could go past so many "Passenger Cars Only" signs to get into that predicament.

You should see the underpass at Clinton St. in Defiance,OH (CSX Chicago line by the station). At least about minimum of 5 trucks a year get stuck under the 11\'6" underpass.

Now think of this: 13\'6" truck trailer and an 11\'6" underpass. Math: 2\' difference. Will we make it? If so, please teach me the math on making it possible to travel under a low underpass. LOL

Cass Telles
"Slow-Approach-Slow" - \'Go by way of the B&O\'
Railroads of NW Ohio
http://www.trainweb.org/rrnwoh

On the Amtrak NEC and Keystone lines in PA, many of the bridges now have a yellow and black striped steel beam mounted just in front of the bridge to take the brunt of truck impacts. Some of the steel bridges on the eastern end of the Keystone line have low clearances and some of the bridges are old stone arches (less clearance near the shoulder of the road).

Needless to say, the many bridges on these lines have been struck too many times to count. I\'ve seen some pretty mangled trailers and "box trucks" over the years.

Ben

I think it should be noted that J.B. Hunt only hires drivers with at least 6 months experince.

tucker wrote:

> I think it should be noted that J.B. Hunt only hires drivers
> with at least 6 months experince.
>
> [%sig%]


6 months experience at what? Reading street signs?

VRE trains were delayed about once a month for "bridge strikes" just north of Fredericksburg, VA. We convinced VDOT to install hanging "logging " chains 100 yards in advance of the bridge, at the exact height of the bridge.
We have not been delayed once in the past year.
The chains "rattle the cage" of the violating truck driver, and they stop....short of the bridge.

The "solution" sounds pretty much like the tell-tales railroads used to use over their tracks near bridges and tunnels so that brakemen working on top of the cars could duck before getting injured or killed.

Ray

R.Geiter wrote:
> HARRISBURG, Pa. -- >
> ...
> News 8 reported that it was the driver\'s first day on the
> job. Instead of wedging the big rig, she just kept going...

What word in that last sentence takes all the surprise out of it?

Wonder if the person she stopped and got directions from is laughing his butt off?

- BCM

J.B Hunt, Read the fist letters down vertically. This is one of the funny sayings for J.B. Hunt.

Just
Been
Hired
Unfortunately
Not
Trained

The Harrisburg story went on to say that the driver\'s "dropped load" ate through the pavement under the bridge. The City hasn\'t decided whether to sue Wendy\'s or J.B. Hunt

Scoob drove truck from 73 to 86 logged over 3 million miles an never had an accident.Now i will tell you in chicago i turned around alot of times.......scoob

There\'s many a low viaduct in Chicago, semi\'s get wedged often. They\'ve been working on raising the CNW ones that parallel I94 between the loop and O\'Hare. No way for semis to go east or north w/o going all the way north to the suburbs where they could the tracks at grade level.

I\'ve been driving for 18 years I understand 13\'6 as opposed to 11\'6 or lees.Not all drivers don\'t know how to read and wright.Scub I know where your comming from in the windy.

Al

There is a pic of the truck on this site
http://www.thewgalchannel.com/news/1871294/detail.html
It\'s a pretty poor pic but you\'ll get the point. I was in H\'burg today and seen the trailer. The middle of the trailer was almost touching the road.
BTW, the bridge that was struck was the old Cumberland Valley bridge... a concrete bridge.

What we need to do is install an IQ tester that the "driver" would have to take the test before they could start any vehical (cars especially) That would take care of a lot of the accidents up front and leave them sitting in the driveway with a proven "dumb" look on their face.
creeper