According to the BBC, a railway bridge in Leicestershire which has been hit by high-sided vehicles 11 times in 12 months, while a bridge in Buckinghamshire was closed for months after a lorry crossing it was found to exceed the weight restriction by a factor of 10.
The problem of large vehicles hitting bridges and avoiding certain roads is not new, but as reliance on navigation systems grows, it is understandable this is an area that will be reviewed. Indeed, the Local Government Association is calling for a ban on regular sat-nav for heavy goods vehicles (or anything above 7.5 tonnes) to ensure the frequency of these incidents is reduced.
It will take some time to formally recommend and legislate such a ban, but it is logical that such a move will happen in the near future. Whatever the times scales or severity of the ban, it is sensible for all hauliers and drivers to think about this problem and how to address it.
Options for HGV navigation
The most obvious solution is upgrade existing sat-nav technology. Manufacturers such as TomTom have specific tools for trucks and lorries, but these devices come with a hefty price tag. With the logistics and haulage sector already suffering huge pressure on their margins, it isn’t feasible that everyone will immediately able to afford such upgrades.
For drivers themselves, free tools such as Google Maps can be so useful, but unfortunately don’t have functionality for HGV route planning. There have been calls from users to add this to the popular mapping service, but as of yet, there is no announcement of to confirm that such a service is imminent. Google Maps is free and the legal and financial implications of a freight planning system planning going wrong mean it may never materialise.
In the short term, there is a decent solution that is freely available. The Freight Journey Planner allows you to enter your destination, vehicle details such as weight and height, and it then shows a route based on your parameters.
It doesn’t offer turn-by-turn navigation, but it is a useful tool to reference before a journey, because you could adjust the route on your existing sat-nav depending on the findings.
Obviously, should full ban occur, vehicles and drivers may need to upgrade their technology - probably at great expense. But for the foreseeable future, make use of the Freight Journey Planner - it’s a great tool.