The Channel 5 show aired on Monday night
HGV strikes Stoneferry bridge in Hull
One of the most infamous bridges in Hull for lorry strikes was featured in a Channel 5 documentary last night. Motorway Cops: Catching Britain’s Speeders aired at 8 pm on Monday, showing the moment an HGV driver was confronted by Humberside Police after he crashed into Stoneferry bridge.
The driver, who had not been speeding, called in the incident himself, admitting to the call handler, “I have just hit a railway bridge with my lorry. So I’m hiding, to be honest.”
PC Moff McEwan, of Roads Policing at Humberside Police, is called to the scene and remarks the HGV does “not look in a good state”. Network Rail is already there, and the officer is relieved he will not have to close the road to traffic.
In the back of the police car, the driver admits the incident has “majorly” wounded his pride. His vehicle is 15’11” tall, whereas the Stoneferry bridge only has a clearance of 15’0″.
PC Moff advises the man he will likely be prosecuted for driving without due care. “The worse case scenario of this was a railway bridge could be on the floor right now, or a train,” he adds.
As the matter draws to a close, PC Moff says: “It could have been a lot worse, there is a lot more to driving HGVs than a car. There is a lot more responsibility as well.”
The documentary revealed the driver was convicted of careless driving. He completed a driver retraining course.
Stoneferry bridge is notorious for HGV strikes. Network Rail confirmed that it recorded 13 incidents at the bridge from 2020 to February 2023.
In February this year, MP Karl Turner for East Hull wrote a letter to Hull City Council, suggesting additional measures are put in place to stop lorries crashing into the bridge. “I think there are lots of things that could be done to ensure collisions like these are avoided,” he wrote.
“In some cities, framing is put around the bridge and collisions go into the framing rather than the bridge. This is a major route into the docks of the city and freight trains can be delayed for hours on end, which causes a major impact to those businesses on the docks.”
He added: “The residents and commuters who rely on this route deserve a safe and reliable passage. I therefore hope that the council will prioritise this matter and take necessary steps to prevent further incidents.”
Hull City Council said there were no plans to add framing. “There is signage currently in place from all directions to warn drivers of the upcoming bridge,” said a spokesperson.
A spokesperson for Network Rail said it was “actively working with local haulage companies to prevent future strikes.” It said it encouraged “lorry drivers to plan their routes carefully and check vehicle heights before journeys”.
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