A new study has found that more than half of all bridge collisions are caused by ‘driver error’, resulting in £23m damage every single year.
For fleets, incidents on the road are something to be mitigated as much as possible.
With HGVs, ensuring routes are suitable for the vehicle’s height is a crucial part of that process.
More than 1,500 bridge strikes were recorded in the 2023/24 financial year, with many incidents being apportioned to drivers not taking the appropriate safety measures.
The study follows the government’s announcement of a £1 billion fund to ‘future-proof’ roads, bridges and tunnels in the UK.
Under the existing rules, if an HGV has a height exceeding three metres, then the height is required to be displayed inside the cab using a height indicator.
But research by Network Rail found that 43% of drivers were unaware of the size of their vehicle, with 52% admitting they don’t factor low bridges into their route planning.
It presents a road safety concern, and at Driving Monitor, our Accident Monitor solution gives you live risk updates and allows you total visibility to keep your team safe – which you can find out more about here.
