There has been 126 crashes into this bridge:
It has a height sensor with a warning light which I assume helped a little. What other ideas are there?
No lifting the rail tracks nor lowering road (because they have not done so).
The only thing I can think of is spike strips that automatically come up out of the road. Maybe a horn? I think a taser is out of the question (the windows might be closed). Engine killer? Paint balls? Everything I can think of would not stop the truck in time. Electro magnet (assuming $$$ does not matter)?
Not only that, but occasionally overheight trucks turn into said trestle. (Though most do plow into it straight-on.)
Apparently, they’re limited in how early they can warn a driver because just before that intersection, there are side streets or alleyways or something that are used for deliveries to the buildings on that street.
What would be gained by spike strips or bollards that pop up? You’d just immobilize the truck a few feet earlier. The sudden stop would still cause injury to the driver/passengers. (As does indeed happen in the more severe crashes where it snags hard.) Remember, the thing they’re running into isn’t the bridge itself anymore, it’s the sacrificial steel beam they put up at bridge height a few years ago, to absorb the blow so the bridge itself isn’t damaged.
I assume digging a pit for a giant electromagnet would cost as much as simply digging the road lower, which I assume has been dismissed as an option for some reason or other.
Tasering the driver wouldn’t stop the truck, it’d just make it more dangerous. Same with paintballing it. The last thing you need is something distracting the driver away from the hazard ahead! Immobilizing an engine is equally unwise, insofar as you don’t want to disable power steering and brakes. (I assume the smaller trucks do not use air brakes like tractor-trailers do.)
This is probably a really good option.
How would you use electronics to solve the 11' 8" bridge problem
Before issuing a drivers license, apply electric shocks until the driver has a clear understanding of road signs and the concept of height.
I think the truck rental agencies need to do a better job of informing their customers of the truck heights — the casual little waiver on the contract and the sticker in the cab just aren’t enough IMHO. I assume that truck rental agencies there in Durham, NC (where that bridge is) probably do tell their customers, but rentals from farther away wouldn’t know about this hazard!