The Baltimore ‘Key Bridge’ incident has been a dramatic reminder of what can happen when any sort of vehicle strikes a bridge.
With a coach typically being around 14’4″ (4.38m) high, operators have always run the risk of being involved with a bridge strike. The majority occur at bridges between 12’6″ (3.81m) and 14’6” (4.42m) in height, so there’s often no chance of a coach getting under or, at best, little wriggle room.
While a bridge strike’s impacts have long been potentially devastating, due to a threat to life on board the vehicle, on the road and on the rail line or road the bridge supports or spans, the risk to a coach operating business has increased at both financial and legal levels.
Despite the costs that emerge in the aftermath always having been sizeable, with the average rail bridge strike costing £14,000 in repairs, it was only in 2015 that having to foot the entire bill became possible.
That was after a second court case ruled Network Rail could also claim back Schedule 8 compensation costs. These can rise to an eye-watering level, with one claim having been for nearly £700,000. It is now standard policy to claim compensation for disruption to services, travel delays and other costs incurred.
The Traffic Commissioner is similarly unimpressed by bridge strikes, due to their serious ramifications and an annual cost of £23m to the UK economy. With around 1,823 strikes a year, a major incident could be only a matter of time. Consequently, the Traffic Commissioner expects operators to provide their drivers with route planning guidance and for bridge strikes to be a part of both refresher training and induction programmes.
Yet Network Rail research shows 31% of drivers receive absolutely no information or guidance on this crucial aspect of commercial driving.
Relying on sat nav systems not intended for commercial use, or ones in which it is not possible to input the exact vehicle dimensions, could catch an operator out. These systems will neither flag up low or narrow bridges on a regular route, nor on one to which the vehicle has had to switch – often a factor in a strike.
Any failure to address this issue, through route planning and training, can have huge consequences. Most bridge strike incidents now lead to prosecution and potentially also Public Inquiry. With not just a charge of careless driving available to prosecutors, but causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving too, drivers – and operators who could just as easily be prosecuted – have never needed legal representation, from the minute police are notified, more.
These are just two motoring offence scenarios benefiting from McCarron Coates’s RTC Crisis Line service, providing instant, on-site legal representation for drivers and employers.
32% of drivers set off unaware of their vehicle’s height. 56% don’t think about low bridges when route planning. Address this scenario in your coach business today, or a bridge strike could bring more than a piece of transport infrastructure down.
