NY seeks to prevent and raise awareness of bridge strikes

Campaign will send message: ‘Check Your Height, Know It’s Right’

Photo by Tom Rivers: A tractor trailer from Georgia got stuck under the railroad underpass/bridge in Holley on April 5, 2021. The bridge on Route 237 has a clearance of 11 feet, 11 inches.

Press Release, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office

Governor Kathy Hochul announced that State Police will be conducting a bridge hit enforcement campaign across New York State, starting on Nov. 5 through Nov. 11.

Each year, commercial truck operators, as well as those driving rental box trucks and moving trucks, fail to recognize their vehicle’s height and collide with bridges and overpasses, colliding with bridges and creating public safety hazards, traffic delays and damage to bridges across the state.

From 2021 through 2022, there were a combined 808 reported bridge strikes across New York State.

“Bridge strikes are potentially hazardous to motorists and first responders and have caused needless inconveniences for local communities – but these incidents are 100 percent preventable,” Governor Hochul said. “While we have implemented measures and technologies across the state to help prevent bridge strikes, nothing is more powerful than knowledge. Drivers of overheight vehicles have a responsibility here as well: follow posted warnings, know the height of vehicles and most importantly pay attention.”

New York State Police will patrol areas of known bridge hits and parkways in an effort to prevent commercial motor vehicles and oversized vehicles from colliding with an overpass. They will also coordinate enforcement details with local law enforcement commercial vehicle inspectors in areas that have high occurrences of bridge strikes.

In coordination with the enforcement campaign, State Police, the New York State Department of Transportation, the Thruway Authority and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee will raise awareness through various social media channels throughout the week.

The NYSDOT’s campaign, “Check Your Height, Know It’s Right,” is designed to ensure that drivers know the height of their vehicles so they know if they can safely make it under any and all bridges. It will feature numerous videos, graphics and photos, and social media messages.

The aim of the campaign is to impress upon all drivers that it is their responsibility to know their height and avoid bridges that they are too tall for. Additionally, NYSDOT will continue to alert drivers of overheight vehicles that consumer GPS and cell phone mapping systems do not include warnings for bridge heights, which puts them at risk of collisions.

Trucking Association of New York President Kendra Hems said, “TANY is proud to work with our state partners on the Bridge Hit Mitigation Task Force to prevent bridge strikes in New York. Education is a critical component to ensure that drivers, both professional and those that drive rental trucks, take the extra step to check the height of their vehicle, know their route, and be diligent about paying attention to road signs. In conjunction with the education campaign, targeted enforcement sends the message about the seriousness of the issue. TANY looks forward to continuing to work on this important issue with our partners as we all strive to prevent bridge strikes in the future.”