VICTORY! MONTAGUE STREET BRIDGE GETS A SOLUTION

After a mammoth 102 accidents, Melbourne’s Montague Street Bridge has finally seen some change. Two electronic height detection gantries were installed last week on either side of the infamous light rail bridge in order to reduce the amount of truck accidents. The gantry works as a warning system for the three-metre high bridge, alerting drivers in both directions if their vehicle is too high to pass under the bridge safely. The large hanging rubber paddles will "thump" in warning if a vehicle is about to make an ill-judged attempt at the underpass. VicRoads is hopeful drivers that hit the gantries will turn around rather than plough ahead into the bridge. In 2016 alone the bridge saw six accidents, on one occasion two trucks hit the bridge in the space of five hours, but after a serious coach crash in February – in which three passengers received hospital treatment, calls for new safety precautions gained momentum. Although well marked out with warning signs and flashing lights, trucks and coaches continued to career into the bridge seemingly unaware of their vehicle’s height. The bridge is so well-known for being hit by trucks and buses, it has its own Twitter account, where its daily misadventures are posted. Isuzu covered all the possible solutions to the problem in this previous Montague Street Bridge blog, if you want to read more about what could be contributing to similar crashes around the country. There has also been a comprehensive history into the bridge in the wake of recent crashes, reports now say that truck drivers have been hitting the bridge since as far back as 1929. It remains to be seen if the gantry will have a lasting effect on the amount of crashes, however it will be a real indicator of whether the bridge height, or driver attention is the real cause of the accidents. For more on accidents and safety, stay tuned for our upcoming Isuzu blog on accident black spots in your state. Concerned about steering clear of low-clearance bridges? Isuzu Trucks is in your corner. Thanks to Sat Nav - which is now standard across all new 2016 Isuzu F Series (except 4x4 models) - you'll have a bridge height alert system in cab for that peace of mind when you need it most. Click here to check out the full suite of intelligent features on-board the new Isuzu F series.