robroy:
Everybody is coming on here saying what a [zb] this driver was, and tbf yeh he is.
I’m trying to work out his mindset here, my theory is he has probably done this numerous times before, and been lucky, a bit of a chancer, and as said being stupid enough to react to pressure from the office,.
Maybe this time he had a little less weight on than last time, made a judgement call, only this day was payback for all the other times…not justifying anything here, just looking for reasons why however misguided he was.
A bit of a ‘‘Let he who without sin cast the.’’…etc etc here.
A few have come on saying ‘‘I would never do this’’ and ‘‘I have never done that’’
Right here goes, being that I have been known to criticise others on here, it’s only fair by the same token, to put myself up for criticism, and admit stuff that that I have done that some others would not do, but hey, crack on call me wtf you like, I’m a big lad, I can take it, so I aint fussed here.
When I read about this, strong winds, prohibitive signs, bridges it made me think of me about 8 yrs ago, rushing to catch the Teesport boat (yeh, I know no excuse so far) I approached that viaduct bridge on the A19 s/bound, I had just loaded about 27 tonne of steel from Gateshead.
The diversion route was under the bridge, I looked down at the roundabout, and from there to the road out was abso chokker.
So…I made a judgement call, 27 tonne wt on one hand/flimsy Euroliner on other.
Ship out Teesport in an hour (or less, that is how tight it was)/or a further 350+ mile to Ramsgate or Dover.with the weekend coming.
I made that judgement call, reckoned up the odds, went for it, and got across. Ok the Euroliner was bending like a banana (as they do) but the steel on the bottom was enough ballast, and I got across…no harm done.
I aint trying to be clever here, I know it was a bit stupid, I know it could have went the other way (although I admit faced with it again back in time I would go for it again) I know I’m gonna get stick, but hey.
My point hete is that driver also made a judgement call,
Trucking decisions to many on here stops at ‘‘Shall I go in 10 mins late to Tesco or 5 mins early’’ ‘‘Shall I do a manual entry or be a devil and not bother’’ or ‘‘Shall I take a sleepin bag with me today or not’’ 
There is a lot more to it in other guy’s jobs. 
Admittedlly a wrong decision was made here… and a bloody stupid one, evidently his weight was not enough to hold him down, maybe he was even empty who knows.
So am I the only one on here that has took a chance on things in this job, went for it rather than err on the side of caution, made a decision, not maybe even concerning high bridges, but something equally with dire potential, which would not necesssarilly be the actions of the majority, …if so I bow to you all for your integrity and professionalism.
That’s all I’m saying, …so let’s hear it.
And you Roberick! 
But I do see what you’re saying, as you often don’t realise what you’re doing is stupid until it’s too late. Yes if the bridge was closed to “High sided Vehicles” then he shouldn’t of crossed. But some time back I myself had to look up exactly what constitutes a High Sided Vehicle, as guess what? It wasn’t covered in my CPC! 
So for reference here it is: Stone Bridge - Blog about the biggest bridges in the world
Permitted to cross:
- Cars without trailers
- Cars with roof racks not higher than 30cm and the load firmly secured (BUT NO bikes, canoes, etc.)
- Transit van style – with no modifications
- Open or flat-bed HGV’s with a low or heavy load
- Single Decker Buses
- Ambulances & Patient Transport vehicles – Ambulance control will be consulted on the risks of crossing. However, the final decision dependent on the criticality of the patient will rest with ambulance control, not the bridge operating company (at ALL wind speeds)
Not permitted to cross:
- High-sided rigid or articulated HGV’s (regardless whether empty or full)
- Articulated tippers (regardless whether empty or full)
- Tankers (regardless whether empty or full)
- Rigid tippers (regardless whether empty or full)
- Car transporters
- Furniture vans
- Luton vans
- Transit van style with modification
- Vehicles with trailers or caravans
- Motorcycles
- 3-wheeled cars
- Any other vehicle which appears, in the judgement of the Duty Inspector, to be clearly at risk.
Now I’m not defending the driver, but maybe they didn’t understand exactly what a high sided vehicle is? Perhaps they though that was only double deckers. A bit of a stretch I know, but if we couple that with them possibly being exhausted and having a bit of a brain ■■■■, who knows that was going through their head. Also, when I started on tankers I asked if we classified as “High Sided” and was told (Err, No, not really…) Which is clearly wrong going by the list above… Anyway, I think my point is that we all screw up from time to time, and before we do stone the driver, perhaps we should ask ourselves if we are without sin?
I made a bit of a mistake a week or so back, when I chose to avoid a traffic jam due to an accident, and took a road I knew and which wasn’t restricted. And all I can say on that, is that it appears a lot wider in your car! 
No issues, but would I take that road again? Would I F…
P.S. Do you think the average Reliant Robin driver knows they aren’t allowed to cross?
