How Enhanced Map & Routing Data Can Help Prevent Bridge Strikes

Fleet managers are vital to all transportation and logistics operations, but this is especially true when it comes to keeping drivers informed about potential hazards along their routes. However, with numerous bridge closures, accidents and road work always popping up across the globe, navigating those hazards has become an increasingly complex task. In this new piece in our “Full Circle of Safety” series, we’ll explore how Trimble’s data and solutions can help businesses avoid costly, dangerous bridge strikes and keep their drivers and asset safe.

The Importance of Precise Bridge Data

When a large commercial vehicle, its load or equipment collides with a low clearance bridge—commonly known as a “bridge strike”—these events pose serious risks to a driver’s safety, as well as the safety of everyone else on the road around them. It’s a common problem throughout the United States and the United Kingdom, where old, low bridges often intersect with roads that are used by both commercial and passenger vehicles.

In its most recent 2018 report on the subject, the US Federal Highway Administration indicated that there are thousands of bridge strikes across the US every year. The problem has become so pervasive in states like New York that their Department of Transportation is reported to have spent $42 million on repairs in recent years to repair damage resulting from strikes. And just earlier this year, Network Rail disclosed that 1,833 bridge strikes were reported across the railway network in the UK between April 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022, estimated to cost taxpayers almost £23 million a year. 

Beyond the obvious risks of harm to individuals involved, these strikes have a major impact on transportation companies. Such an accident can severely damage a vehicle and require extensive repairs, if not complete replacement. Any equipment involved in the collision—a common cause of strikes being that heavy vehicles are transporting tall equipment—can be similarly injured and dramatically increase financial liability. And the loss of freight can have a major impact on reputation and standing.

According to a 2007 report from the US Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the cost to repair a heavy commercial vehicle after a crash averaged approximately $150,000 (adjusted for inflation). When someone is injured, that cost can climb to the hundreds of thousands, and upward to millions in the event of a fatality. Average reported costs in the UK are similar when a vehicle strikes a bridge.

However, in addition to bridge strikes, bridges also pose a risk when a heavy vehicle intends to cross one, but exceeds the bridge’s weight or width limits. Such risky maneuvers can be extremely dangerous and costly. The RAC Foundation, for example, recently reported that 4.3% of all bridges across the UK are unable to carry the heaviest vehicles on the roads. And the state of New York recently implemented a unique system of in-road sensors to flag vehicles that exceed the weight limits on bridges in and around the city of New York.

So, regardless of whether a vehicle will cross over or under a bridge, it’s essential that back office staff track and warn of potentially risky bridges along a driver’s route. But doing this effectively depends on meticulous knowledge of the driver, the vehicle, the load and the route they will be traveling. Below, we’ll explore how Trimble helps transportation companies tackle this tricky challenge. 

How Trimble Helps

When it comes to navigating bridges or any potential hazard on the road, knowledge is power. Trimble mapping technologies are designed to assist back office staff and fleet managers to not only streamline processes, create efficiency, and improve visibility, but help them make data-driven decisions that keep their drivers safe and help grow and improve their business.

Trimble offers a range of solutions, all built on its proprietary map data, to enable transport planning teams to create routes that ensure their driver’s safety. This map is meticulously maintained by our team of cartographers and data analytics professionals to offer the most current, clear view of conditions on the road. For example, fleet managers can use our web tools to set a precise routing profile for a vehicle (weight, limit, vehicle type) in the back office and then view routes that fit that profile. This ensures that drivers using CoPilot, our commercial navigation application, avoid complex maneuvers, low bridges, and restricted roads, thereby reducing the risk of accidents caused by unfamiliar routes.

Our technology also provides stakeholders with real-time alerts for changing road conditions, such as flood warnings, providing visibility of potential risks that could affect an ETA early on and giving them the time to plan a safer alternative route. It also supports drivers on their routes by displaying clear signage and road markings, which is especially important when, for example, 7,635 road accidents in 2022 were attributed to a poor road environment in the UK. These features collectively help drivers stay aware of potential hazards, reducing the likelihood of accidents.

Trimble’s solutions also supports transport and logistics back offices in managing vehicle-specific data and ensuring proper cargo loading, which can have a major impact on the routes heavy vehicles can take and the bridges they can use. 

Another critical feature for fleet managers is that our web tools allow them to remotely configure navigation settings, such as motion lock and use post-trip analysis tools to provide coaching and improve future driver performance. Integrated with vehicle diagnostics and telematics systems, this builds a 360-degree picture of vehicle health and performance, ensuring timely maintenance and reducing the risk of breakdowns.

Going Forward

By leveraging Trimble technologies, fleet operations can significantly enhance safety, efficiency, and operational effectiveness. And as a result, fleet staff will be able to efficiently manage tasks, address potential issues proactively and support drivers in navigating safely, thus carriers will experience smoother operations, reduced risk, and increased profitability, all while scaling up to meet growing logistical demands.

Contact our team to learn how Trimble’s navigation and data tools can help your business stay safe on the road and avoid costly bridge strikes.