Railway bridges struck by road vehicles - merged topic, ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[GBM]

....
Only 15% of the population is over 70 and I am not sure very many of them will be driving buses or HGV's.

Correct on both counts...

[IndustryInsider]

Yeah I believe it's at the top of the cab, out of the drivers line of vision. Surely having something within the line of vision that doesn't impede their view would solve it. Single Decker icons for Single Deckers, Double for Double deckers. Something that is a quick reference.

A simple action like that won't 'solve' anything, though it might well decrease the risk of it happening, and as such might be a good thing.  

Human factors, specifically non-technical skills such as decision making and situational awareness, are complicated and difficult to influence to any great degree.  As Red Squirrel's excellent post above pointed out, whilst gross negligence might be a cause, and needs to be dealt with appropriately, there's usually a whole lot more to it.

[paul7575]

Being very old, I was taught 'Imperial Units'.  I understood them.
When we changed to £p, that was easy.

When meat weights changed to kg/g and some measurements changed to m/mm, I still struggle, and prefer the old units.

Luddite yes

I am only a couple of years off retirement and I was taught only in metric units at secondary school. I did learn the other units at primary school. Admittedly I have worked in a technical profession for all my career therefore using units on a day to day basis.  The UK^▸ (United Kingdom) construction and manufacturing industry officially went metric in 1970 - that's 50 years ago!

I am 65 and was taught fully metric at secondary school.  More importantly my late mother insisted that the metric system was routinely taught in schools before WW2, she always said the idea that “old folk” had a problem was artificial.

But in the case of this sort of tunnel shaped hole through a high railway embankment, where it seems like you’re driving towards a 40 ft high overgrown hedge, in broad daylight, let’s not use signage as an excuse...

Paul

[Bmblbzzz]

Hundredweight (cwt): I don't know in what contexts I saw this abbreviation as a child, but to me it always seemed to stand for for "kilowatts". I mean, who spells hundred with a c? (The Romans, and what did they ever do for us?)

And just to be irrelevantly pedantic, the US is not the only country still officially using "Imperial" units. Myanmar and Liberia also do! (And of course they cling on for various non-official duties in a number of other countries, mostly ones that were once part of the British Empire, but not necessarily English speaking.)

[Hal]

Doesn't the railway still use "Chains" to measure distance along the track?

[stuving]

Doesn't the railway still use "Chains" to measure distance along the track?

Fortunately a chain is 20 m, unless you're being really picky.

[broadgage]

In the USA they still "acre feet" as a unit of measurement. Sounds more like an animal ailment to me, as in "the poor animal got acre feet and had to be shot"

Returning to bridges, It seems that both metric and imperial measures should be shown on bridges. With the long term aim of eventually phasing out imperial units.

[IndustryInsider]

Doesn't the railway still use "Chains" to measure distance along the track?

Fortunately a chain is 20 m, unless you're being really picky.

Metric measurements are used for Over-Head Line Equipment (OHLE) structures, but still very much miles and chains in other respects.  The railway will be the last to convert... 

Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronym

[Western Pathfinder]

Doesn't the railway still use "Chains" to measure distance along the track?

Fortunately a chain is 20 m, unless you're being really picky.

Or Twenty Two Yards  just like a Cricket Wicket,if you still use English 😁

[ellendune]

Doesn't the railway still use "Chains" to measure distance along the track?

Fortunately a chain is 20 m, unless you're being really picky.

Yes it is 20.1168 m which is neither here nor there for finding an asset that is quite big - like a bridge or a set of points. Unless you start adding them up all the way from Paddington, in which case after 100km you could be a way out!

I suppose they still use miles and chains because otherwise they would need to need to spend money replacing all the mileposts and asset records that are measured in miles and chains. 

[TaplowGreen]

......getting back on track, now being reported that several of the children have "life changing" injuries - generally means amputations in this context.

It's reported that the bus was running late and the driver appeared to be taking a shortcut, despite children on board "screaming" that he was going the wrong way.

Stagecoach have confirmed that the driver was an experienced member of staff.......one would assume therefore that he would have realised that he was driving a double decker rather than a single decker, and taken the necessary precautions when approaching a low bridge.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-54116518

[Bmblbzzz]

Doesn't the railway still use "Chains" to measure distance along the track?

Fortunately a chain is 20 m, unless you're being really picky.

Yes it is 20.1168 m which is neither here nor there for finding an asset that is quite big - like a bridge or a set of points. Unless you start adding them up all the way from Paddington, in which case after 100km you could be a way out!

I suppose they still use miles and chains because otherwise they would need to need to spend money replacing all the mileposts and asset records that are measured in miles and chains. 

I don't know how much truth there is in this, but it's been said that they would need to resurvey everything rather than convert. Because the Victorian navvy gangs were paid by the chain, they would claim a chain at say 21 yards rather than 22. Over the length of the railway, it amounted to enough extra pay to be worth it.

[Bmblbzzz]

......getting back on track, now being reported that several of the children have "life changing" injuries - generally means amputations in this context.

It's reported that the bus was running late and the driver appeared to be taking a shortcut, despite children on board "screaming" that he was going the wrong way.

Stagecoach have confirmed that the driver was an experienced member of staff.......one would assume therefore that he would have realised that he was driving a double decker rather than a single decker, and taken the necessary precautions when approaching a low bridge.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-54116518

Sometimes, screaming kids should be listened to. 

[TaplowGreen]

Shameful.......what sort of a person could make a joke of it?

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/devon-bus-drivers-slammed-appalling-4508096

[IndustryInsider]

Agreed.  Shameful.

Regarding your earlier point about experienced staff not making mistakes, similar incidents on the railway (involving the non-technical skills I mentioned earlier) indicate ‘experience’ makes little difference - indeed it can lead to complacency.  That’s why Red Squirrels post was spot on.