"...has a height restriction of 8ft 6in..."
Less "oops" and more "D'oh" there.
While it's true that many height restrictions err on the side of pessimism to excess[1] the difference between 8' 6" and the height of a full sized articulated trailer is a decidedly non-trivial one. He was so far out that it looks like he didn't get the cab under, never mind the trailer(!)
[1] e.g. There's one alleging 10' 6" in the vicinity of King's Langley that I know for a fact will take a box bodied truck of an honestly measured 11' 9" with a good 6" to spare.
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Did you find that out by measuring the bridge, TC, or...?
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Apparently the arch is signed at 10' not 8'6". Still an act of gross stupidity; my old ERF flatbed wouldn't go under that bridge and it didn't have a roof spoiler.
Regarding leeway; the theory's fine till they re-surface the road. One on the old Leicester ring road caught many out that way.
Last edited by: Harleyman on Fri 19 Oct 12 at 12:52
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AFAIK M&S don't employ drivers. Haulage for them is a contract with the trailers being signwritten with M&S but not the cab units.
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>> AFAIK M&S don't employ drivers. Haulage for them is a contract with the trailers being
>> signwritten with M&S but not the cab units.
>>
True; but in this case they'll certainly carry the can.
Last edited by: Harleyman on Fri 19 Oct 12 at 14:11
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>> Did you find that out by measuring the bridge, TC, or...?
>>
First time, I arrived at it, swore, looked a bit more closely and thought it would go. Got the van assistant to hang out the window while I gingerly took the thing under. He reported a good 6" spare.
I got quite used to flying through there without so much as a thought. One day, I was riding shotgun for someone else. I took him that way and he braked when he saw the limit:
"Keep going, you're fine."
"Always wondered if this would fit under there."
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>> [1] e.g. There's one alleging 10' 6" in the vicinity of King's Langley that I
>> know for a fact will take a box bodied truck of an honestly measured 11'
>> 9" with a good 6" to spare.
Presumably that's the one under the West Coast Main Line from Euston? It used to be a regular for bashes. Lost count of the number of times trains I've been on have been delayed or terminated at Watford.
Touching wood, it's been a while since it last happened. Perhaps they've given leeway because they know drivers will chance it.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Fri 19 Oct 12 at 13:11
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Years ago I had a spectacular altercation with National Carparks.
My landrover had a height of 6' 3".
At the entrance to the carpark was a swinging board, displaying a height of 6' 2".
I cautiously crept up to the board, and got out and checked - there was a good 6" clearance.
So I confidently drove into the carpark. On the way out I hit a large illuminated overhead sign, shattering it and showering plastic bits everywhere. There was no damage to the landrover.
There followed a long argument lasting many months, in which they tried to argue that a swinging board is simply a notice for displaying a height, and is not intended to actually hang at the indicated height. I made an exhaustive check at lots of other NCP carparks, and discovered they all hung at precisely the indicated heights. I asked how this amazing coincidence had come about.
Finally the argument drifted into a stalemate. They never conceeded their board was at fault, but never pursued the action they had threatened.
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I once followed a sign to a car park, only to find there was a height restriction that I knew darn well I'd never fit under as I was driving a Range Rover with a centrally mounted pump up mast and aerials (a BBC Transmission Survey vehicle). About 8 foot and a bit from memory.
I could cheerfully have shot the council worker responsible for signs as the only way out involved me driving back down the access road, 200 yards or so, the wrong way as it was a one way road.
Needless to say, I did recheck the signage as I had to drive past it, and there was no height warning.
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Similar experience to SP.
Drove to IKEA at Brent Cross to pick up bunk beds for kids, then two and four. Acres of open parking, height limited only by the Heathrow TMA, and full of cars. Marshalls directed us into the multi story which was 3m plus on ground floor but 1.8 above. Ground floor also full of cars and signed way out was up!!
Managed to find my way out by ignoring the one way system. Eventually found a space right at the far end.
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I took a van into a multi-storey whose height restriction showed I had just enough space.
They'd fitted new fluorescent tube lighting and not changed the sign - I only took one out!
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I drove a transit van into a car park in a town I knew a little. I knew the van would fit under the barriers, I'd been in that car park only 3 months before.
I guess the previous time I hadn't had a windsurf board strapped on the roof rack though.
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There was a Multistory NCP car park somewhere in London I used to use (cant remember where) where the last exit ramp was a steep down hill, and the headroom reduced, it was exactly like a wedge. And yes you guessed it, a van went down it and wedged itself in. The driver got out through the back doors (it had crushed the door pillars down) and of course with less weight in it groaned a bit and crushed itsself a bit more.
The car park was blocked, all cars trapped in it. The van wasnt driveable, it wasnt coming out of the wedge forwards by gravity and it wasnt driving all the way out backwards. So they cut off the van roof in situ.
Wonder what that insurance claim looked like.
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>> Presumably that's the one under the West Coast Main Line from Euston?
Don't know. It's on a little side lane round the back of the place and it's on a steepish hill, so clearance on the "upside" is rather tighter.
I suspect that's the reason for the pessimism. Coming at it uphill, you could suspect that a full artic trailer would fit, but you'd be somewhat discomfited about halfway through were you to try it.....
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M&S driver underestimates size of Yorkie bar. - TeeCee
