Lorry hangs over M25 bridge above the A2

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Peter350
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Lorry hangs over M25 bridge above the A2

Post by Peter350 »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-56669974

Looks pretty nasty, although judging by the photo it appears the driver somehow managed to do that without even making a dent in the barrier.
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roadtester
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Re: Lorry hangs over M25 bridge above the A2

Post by roadtester »

Here's some dashcam footage from Twitter today, which I think is of this incident.

https://twitter.com/LUDENClassics/statu ... 6211792901
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Re: Lorry hangs over M25 bridge above the A2

Post by c2R »

roadtester wrote: Thu Apr 08, 2021 00:11 Here's some dashcam footage from Twitter today, which I think is of this incident.

https://twitter.com/LUDENClassics/statu ... 6211792901
It looks like it.. interestingly it's taken on a mobile phone not dashcam, I wonder if it was being driven erratically before it hit the bridge barrier at the end of the hard shoulder, which catapaulted it to hit the central barrier and then back to the edge....
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Re: Lorry hangs over M25 bridge above the A2

Post by B1040 »

Or it had to brake suddenly because someone cut in front of it.
Conjecture here
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Re: Lorry hangs over M25 bridge above the A2

Post by SteveA30 »

Lorry drivers on a Facebook group looking at the same footage, thought that if the trailer was empty the weight of the forklift at the back may have caused instability.
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Re: Lorry hangs over M25 bridge above the A2

Post by roadtester »

SteveA30 wrote: Thu Apr 08, 2021 08:55 Lorry drivers on a Facebook group looking at the same footage, thought that if the trailer was empty the weight of the forklift at the back may have caused instability.
Similar comments on Twitter about a possible lack of ballast over the fifth wheel to counteract the weight of the forklift.
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Re: Lorry hangs over M25 bridge above the A2

Post by Bryn666 »

It's your annual reminder that motorway bridge parapets are not as strong as you think they are. A similar incident happened on the Barton Bridge about 25 years ago where the cab went through the parapets and was left precariously hanging over the canal.
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Re: Lorry hangs over M25 bridge above the A2

Post by KeithW »

Bryn666 wrote: Thu Apr 08, 2021 09:40 It's your annual reminder that motorway bridge parapets are not as strong as you think they are. A similar incident happened on the Barton Bridge about 25 years ago where the cab went through the parapets and was left precariously hanging over the canal.
Then there was the car that went through the fencing on the A1(M) Don bridge as it it was wet string
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/tr ... on-1801195

After that they put concrete barriers in place.
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Re: Lorry hangs over M25 bridge above the A2

Post by Runwell »

There's still speed restrictions there from that accident, iirc?

There was a near disaster not too long ago at the Copdock interchange as well. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co ... k-51804286
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Re: Lorry hangs over M25 bridge above the A2

Post by Bryn666 »

I keep saying it but no one listens, why have we got monster 44t trucks using road networks not designed for them?
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Re: Lorry hangs over M25 bridge above the A2

Post by Al__S »

B1040 wrote: Thu Apr 08, 2021 08:00 Or it had to brake suddenly because someone cut in front of it.
Conjecture here
The best evidence that it was already erratic- and not an emergency braking situation- is that the video is shot by a passenger in a following vehicle who has had time to to start videoing it on their phone.
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Re: Lorry hangs over M25 bridge above the A2

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Bryn666 wrote: Thu Apr 08, 2021 09:40 It's your annual reminder that motorway bridge parapets are not as strong as you think they are. ...
IIRC, and I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, those bridge parapets are designed to deflect a 32 lorry hitting it at upto 30 deg, I am not sure what speed.
The cab hit it almost square on, the fact the crash barrier stopped the truck means it sort of worked by brut force. That said assuming the truck was empty the weight would be mainly the tractor unit, how much does a tractor unit weight.
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Re: Lorry hangs over M25 bridge above the A2

Post by BeenEverywhere »

About 7-9 tonnes. Bear in mind that it's got the momentum of the trailer and another few tonnes of forklift behind it though.

If I were stabbing a guess, I'd say there's 20 tonne there if the trailer is empty, but that is a guess with no evidence or science behind it.

Again, total conjecture, but the car seems to be sitting in lane 2, at the same speed as the truck, so I wonder if they had seen something that didn't look right, and were attempting to hold traffic back for safety.
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Re: Lorry hangs over M25 bridge above the A2

Post by JonB2028 »

JohnnyMo wrote: Fri Apr 09, 2021 09:58
Bryn666 wrote: Thu Apr 08, 2021 09:40 It's your annual reminder that motorway bridge parapets are not as strong as you think they are. ...
IIRC, and I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, those bridge parapets are designed to deflect a 32 lorry hitting it at upto 30 deg, I am not sure what speed.
The cab hit it almost square on, the fact the crash barrier stopped the truck means it sort of worked by brut force. That said assuming the truck was empty the weight would be mainly the tractor unit, how much does a tractor unit weight.
Normal parapets (what used to be termed P1 now N2 containment class) are only designed to contain a largeish car. (N2 is 1500kg car at 110kph at 20 degree angle. The high containment H4a used at locations like rail crossings is 30 tonne HGV at 65kph at 20 degrees.)
http://www.v-and-g.co.uk/parapets.htm
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Re: Lorry hangs over M25 bridge above the A2

Post by PhilC »

KeithW wrote: Thu Apr 08, 2021 13:51
Then there was the car that went through the fencing on the A1(M) Don bridge as it it was wet string
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/tr ... on-1801195
As a complete aside, in the Highway Code Consultation thread some posters have commented that they have never seen a "Leave Motorway at Next Exit" sign. If you scroll through the Yorkshire Post article there is a photograph showing it in use.
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Re: Lorry hangs over M25 bridge above the A2

Post by Ruperts Trooper »

JonB2028 wrote: Fri Apr 09, 2021 10:44 N2 is 1500kg car at 110kph at 20 degree angle
1500 kg at 68 mph is quite low - something like a fully laden Vauxhall Corsa at less than motorway speeds.
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Re: Lorry hangs over M25 bridge above the A2

Post by JohnnyMo »

Ruperts Trooper wrote: Fri Apr 09, 2021 10:53
JonB2028 wrote: Fri Apr 09, 2021 10:44 N2 is 1500kg car at 110kph at 20 degree angle
1500 kg at 68 mph is quite low - something like a fully laden Vauxhall Corsa at less than motorway speeds.
1.5 Tonnes I though that was the standard motorway crash barrier. The sort you get for mile after mile. Wavy pressed metal (Armco ?)
5 Tonnes was the next grade up, often around the base of over bridges or other hard objects. Single square box type
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Re: Lorry hangs over M25 bridge above the A2

Post by baroudeur »

The driver was lucky that the way that the combination jack-knifed kept the tractor unit on the carriageway and the front of the trailer overhanging the drop. Had the tractor unit hit the barrier "head on" it would, probably, have fallen to the road below with or without the trailer.
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Re: Lorry hangs over M25 bridge above the A2

Post by the cheesecake man »

Bryn666 wrote: Thu Apr 08, 2021 22:36 I keep saying it but no one listens, why have we got monster 44t trucks using road networks not designed for them?
Because the EU said so? :stir:
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Re: Lorry hangs over M25 bridge above the A2

Post by Big Nick »

Al__S wrote: Fri Apr 09, 2021 07:13
B1040 wrote: Thu Apr 08, 2021 08:00 Or it had to brake suddenly because someone cut in front of it.
Conjecture here
The best evidence that it was already erratic- and not an emergency braking situation- is that the video is shot by a passenger in a following vehicle who has had time to to start videoing it on their phone.
Reminds me of the time I saw a lorry taking up 3 lanes on the M25 as the trailer kept swinging back and forth. I think the driver had changed lanes suddenly at speed and the pendulum effect took over. That took a couple of minutes for him to recover - quite scary.
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