NEW YORK — There have been several accidents across the state over the years involving vehicles hitting bridges, including in Western New York.
In New York State, there were more than 800 bridge strikes from 2021-2022. Some of those accidents created safety hazards, traffic delays, as well as damages to the bridges.
In an effort to prevent future accidents and bring awareness, New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that troopers with the New York State Police will be conducting a 'bridge hit enforcement campaign' from November 5 thru November 11.
"Bridge strikes are potentially hazardous to motorists and first responders and have caused needless inconveniences for local communities – but these incidents are 100 percent preventable," Governor Hochul said. "While we have implemented measures and technologies across the state to help prevent bridge strikes, nothing is more powerful than knowledge. Drivers of overheight vehicles have a responsibility here as well: follow posted warnings, know the height of vehicles, and most importantly, pay attention."
New York State Police Acting Superintendent Dominick L. Chiumento said, "Commercial vehicle drivers must know their height, and must always be cognizant of any low bridges along their route. Too many times have we had a commercial vehicle that thought they could squeeze under an overpass. Avoiding these low bridges is crucial for the safety of all that travel New York’s roadways. Not only do bridge strikes cause significant damage and disruption to traffic but they have the potential to present additional hazards to other drivers and the communities wherein these low bridges are found. The State Police will continue to work with our state and local partners with the goal of eliminating these low bridge strikes and thus ensuring everyone’s safety."
Troopers will be patrolling areas of known bridge hits to help prevent commercial vehicles or oversized vehicles from hitting bridges.
The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has proposed new amendments which would assign point values on a driver license for hitting a bridge, or speeding in a work zone.
"It is so important that drivers of all kinds of trucks check the height of bridges on their planned routes to be sure their vehicle will safely fit. Mapping software can be useful in many ways, but it doesn’t always provide information on bridge heights so drivers must conduct their own checks before getting on the road," said New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner and Governor's Traffic Safety Committee Chair Mark J.F. Schroeder.
So far, in 2023, there have been 91 reported bridge strikes on the NYS Thruway.
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