Truck-Bridge Collisions On The Rise In Houston

HOUSTON, TX — It happened on Monday, and it will likely happen again this week: An 18-wheeler driving on one of the city's many stretches of crowded interstate runs into a bridge, the top of the truck's cargo too tall to pass safely under the overpass.

In fact, according to records from the state, that exact thing has happened 22 times in 2017, a record. Let's blame it on the economy, which is what Danny Perez did.

Perez, with the state's Department of Transportation, explains the theory.

“If the economy tends to pick up, then you’re going to see more trucking traffic obviously,” he told KUHF.

A report issued in April showed that the Port of Houston is processing 11 percent more volume than it did in 2016, which means more cargo containers and more trucks on the roads to handle it.

But a man who should know puts the blame for collisions squarely on the drivers of those trucks.

“It’s driver neglect,” said Martin Garsee. “He should know exactly what the height of his truck is and obviously be observing.” Garsee oversees the truck-driving training program at Houston Community College.

Perez said that the transportation department is working in a few solutions, including improving roads outside Houston's loop an encouraging trucks to use them. In addition, Texas A&M researchers are experimenting with lasers at two Houston overpasses; the system is designed to alert truckers with flashing lights when their cargo is too high.

See the complete story at KUHF

— Image: Wikimedia Common/Hequals2henry