Posted By Eddie Campbell
Quoted from the Inverness Courier 20th April 2007

North Trains Delayed After Lorry Jams Under Inverness Bridge

THE railway line north of Inverness was closed yesterday morning after a high-sided lorry became stuck under the city’s Shore Street Bridge.
The vehicle, owned by express delivery giant Business Post, was travelling towards the Shore Street roundabout when it tried to pass under the l5ft high bridge.
The single-track line was closed between 10.20am and 11.45am, resulting in delays to six trains — of which three were for more than one hour.
The lorry was only freed after the tyres were deflated, enabling engineers from Network Rail to examine the bridge.
“The damage was just superficial — there was no structural damage,” a spokeswoman said.
The affected trains included the 6.22am Wick to Inverness service which was delayed 65 minutes, resulting in the delayed departures of the 10.39am Inverness to Wick and the 10.52am Inverness/Kyle of Lochalsh services.
Jackie Lawrie, senior marketing communications executive with Business Post, said the vehicle was being driven by an agency driver rather than one of the company’s own drivers at the time of the accident.
“The driver misjudged the height of the bridge and clipped the top, causing some considerable damage and traffic hold-ups,” Miss Lawrie said.
“Business Post is extremely sorry for the inconvenience caused. We will be contacting the agency to look at the credentials of the driver.”
It is believed the driver was not injured.
Unquote.

Is it just me or are there some inconsistencies in this report?

Superficial damage...............considerable damage...

Now that there has been a bit of an accident would be a good time to go looking for the drivers credentials to drive this big truck...............

Oh and by the way the driver was not injured.

You couldn't make these stories up now could you.............?

A clipping from the newspaper is available here:

http://freespace.virgin....f/Lorry%20Hits%20Bridge/

Posted By Eddie Campbell
Good Morning Bob

I must agree with everything you say. Its just a pity the employer didn't see it as important to check the drivers credentials before the incident.
The information relayed to the public on the reasons for the incident and outcomes may have been a little better handled by the communications experts.

This is just one of many incidents involving vehicles hitting this particular bridge. One recently involved a lorry carrying a digger with the boom arm raised too high. Nobody was hurt but the result of the impact resulted in the replacement of the bridge section in the photograph. Being the main connection out of the city to the north this caused enormous disruptions to the communities in that part of the country who relied on these routes for their transport to and from work.

I must check your links on bridge strikes. If the frequency of strikes nationwide is anything like the frequency of strikes on this particular bridge then I may have to set the GPS for alternative routes as part of the generic risk assessment of my travels.

;-{)