Guy Street train bridge: a question
I was looking at comments on my post on the Guy Street bridge incident from yesterday. The city supposedly put up a large warning sign (I don’t see it on Streetview) but every now and then a trucker still wedges a rig under there, stopping not only road traffic but also commuter trains while CP sends engineers out to inspect the bridge. So I was wondering: do truckers rely on GPS? Does GPS give out any information besides routing? Could GPSes be programmed to have the voice say “Turn down Guy Street but do not take this route if your vehicle is higher than 3.5 meters”?
Of course, this would rely on truckers being aware of the height of their vehicles, but is this possible, or has it already been done and still falls down from time to time?
Chris 08:55 on 2019-05-31 Permalink
GPS only gives location and time, doesn’t give routing at all. You’re presumably referring to map apps like Apple Maps, Google Maps, Waze, etc. Not sure if any of their databases have underpass height info, I’ve never noticed it.
Roman 09:25 on 2019-05-31 Permalink
The actual solution is so simple. Install another low hanging gate at the same height on both sides a few meters before on both sides. The trucks would hit that and stop.
John B 09:51 on 2019-05-31 Permalink
There are “Trucking GPSs,” (both apps and devices), where you enter the size & weight of your vehicle and it’ll find you a safe & legal route. The data required to do this, (info on low bridges, etc), is mostly controlled by one or two companies, and is generally pretty good. Also, most truck drivers, especially if they’re not renting the truck, are pretty aware of the size of their truck.
However, some truckers also use Waze to avoid traffic, (there’s no good Waze-style nav that takes truck size/weight into account yet), and Waze isn’t aware of vehicle size & weight and the related restrictions.
Patrick 14:27 on 2019-05-31 Permalink
There was a story in La Presse the other day about 20-ton trucks traveling on Montreal highway connectors or other roads built for 5 tons max. Apparently there is no enforcement of the limit.