Folks check your overhead clearance

roadrunnertex · September 11, 2010, 06:46:48 AM

SALINA, N.Y. – A double-decker bus traveling off its route hit a railroad bridge that it failed to clear and flipped on its side early Saturday, killing four people and injuring others, some critically, authorities said.

The Megabus was carrying at least 20 people when it crashed around 2:30 a.m. on the Onondaga Lake Parkway in Salina, a suburb of Syracuse in central New York, said Larry Ives, supervisor of dispatch operations for the Onondaga County Sheriff's Department.

He said the bus was too tall to make it under the low-clearance bridge. It struck the bridge span between two large signs warning that the clearance was 10 feet, 9 inches, photographs from WSYR-TV showed. The top level of the bus was crushed and partially peeled back in the front.

The driver of the bus had head injuries, Onondaga County sheriff's deputy Herb Wiggins told The Post-Standard newspaper of Syracuse.

The bus left Philadelphia at 10 p.m. Friday and was headed for Toronto with stops in Syracuse and Buffalo, said Don Carmichael, a senior vice president at Coach USA, which operates Megabus. He said he didn't know why the bus was off its route but was headed to the crash site early Saturday to investigate.

The crash shut down the parkway.

happycamperbrat · September 11, 2010, 07:18:14 AM

Im sorry for everyone, but that was kinda lame of the driver. On my rv I measured the very top of my highest roof top assessory which was my air conditioner and then on the front bumper I put a long thin piece of metal that I scrounged (looked kinda like an antena) and I cut it to be 3" taller then my air conditioner box. When going under trees or other questionable overhanges I just watched my front metal piece to see if it moved.

Mex-Busnut · September 11, 2010, 08:26:16 AM

When I was driving truck out of Dallas, TX, I remember one of the local delivery drivers tried to drive an 11-foot tall truck under the 2-story parking garage of a very expensive shopping center. He did over $100,000 in damage to the structure, plus vehicles parked on the second level. Not to mention the damage to the boss's truck and getting fired.

TomC · September 11, 2010, 08:55:49 AM

On my truck, the front part of the truck body is at 13ft. Then the back half goes up to a full 13'6". I am going to mount a video camera on the hump so I can simply turn on the camera to watch for overhead problems. Also am going to have a rear camera and a camera on each side of the rear so I can watch rear tail swing. Good Luck, TomC

artvonne · September 11, 2010, 09:54:14 AM

This is very sad. The driver was off his route, that time of night he was probably sleepy or drousey, probably made a wrong turn and was just not paying attention. People will call for more regulation, instead of accepting the fact that humans make mistakes no matter how hard we try to build safety nets. I think I was under 10 years old, saw a picture of a double decker stuffed under a bridge. Didnt seem too smart then, seems just as stupid today. An older GMC Coach would have slid right under and never made any headlines. They will probably charge the driver with criminal conduct, but who's goint to sue the bus manufacturer for making the bus so tall. Its a recipe for disaster IMHO.

bevans6 · September 11, 2010, 10:35:27 AM

Two of my neighbours, and family friends, were on that bus, but were reported as uninjured. Double deck highway coaches are now quite common and in everyday use around here. They are being promoted for luxury inter-city use. I thought that I had read that they are subject to over-height permits that restrict the roads they are allowed to drive on, but I can't find a cite. The story I read said that the driver was not allowed to deviate from his route, and obviously was way off of it, per company regulation.

Brian

Depewtee · September 11, 2010, 11:29:00 AM

Link to WSYR-TV with pictures click here.

Stolaas · September 11, 2010, 01:18:27 PM

That is really sad.

A trucker friend of mine says he hated driving in the north east, particular the new England area. He said even if you know your height you will still hit bridges up there. The problem is, over many years repaving the road, the road has gotten higher and higher and the state never remeasures the clearance.

Mex-Busnut · September 11, 2010, 01:53:54 PM

Quote from: bevans6 on September 11, 2010, 10:35:27 AM
Two of my neighbors, and family friends, were on that bus, but were reported as uninjured.
Brian

Brian:

Good for your friends! Did your friends tell you why the driver was off his route? Had he missed a turn or something?

bevans6 · September 11, 2010, 02:00:45 PM

No. That is indeed the story - why was he where he was? He was supposed to be on the Interstate, as far as I read, but he was in a Syracuse NY suburb. He wasn't supposed to leave his designated route. I suspect that we will find out sooner or later, the driver was well cut with shattered glass but otherwise not too injured.

Brian

pabusnut · September 11, 2010, 05:03:27 PM

This is very sad. It was also a professional driver, and a commercial bus, not some lame half-wit busnut like me, who you rarely see on the news stuck under a bridge, or with their roof peeled off.

Just yesterday, near my house there was another 12 ft tall semi loaded with dry portland cement trying to squeeze under a railroad bridge with a 10' 11" clearance. Again, this was a professional driver with a CDL. The speed limit is only 25 and the sign over the underpass is over 10' wide. This is after the yellow road sign that says "low clearance bridge 10' 11" ahead."

I blame pure laziness and cultural dependence on GPS devices.

Just my $0.04 cents worth (inflation).

Steve Toomey

pabusnut

artvonne · September 11, 2010, 05:35:52 PM

So your saying that a CDL and having the vehicle DOT'd wouldnt have prevented this?

Since I was a child I always wondered why bridges were allowed to be lower than the vehicles the DOT claimed meet all theyre standards. Allowing tall vehicles without making all bridges taller is a recipe for disaster. But they'll hang the driver for it regardless.

Mex-Busnut · September 11, 2010, 05:45:41 PM

Quote from: artvonne on September 11, 2010, 05:35:52 PM
Since I was a child I always wondered why bridges were allowed to be lower than the vehicles the DOT claimed meet all theyre standards.

From what I remember from my boss when I was driving ruck in the late 1970's, he said most of those low bridges dated back to before World War II.

robertglines1 · September 11, 2010, 05:50:33 PM

FWIW when they repave over existing pavement they don"t change clearance heights right away if ever...6 inches can make the differance..Bob

belfert · September 11, 2010, 06:35:28 PM

If the DOT only allowed vehicles that would fit under the lowest bridge everything would be delivered via pickup trucks and RVs wouldn't exist anymore.

There simply isn't enough money to raise all the bridges to the current 14 foot standard. One would hope that bridges get raised as they are replaced, but that gets hard when a railroad track runs on top. The Northeast Corridor has many, many low bridges. Those bridges will all need to be replaced some day and I have no idea how Amtrak intends to keep the trains running when they do replace them. (Maybe they will build a seperate bridge for each track?)