Have bridge strikes gone away?

04 June 2024

Have bridge strikes gone away? Bridge strikes is very much still a hot topic for the Traffic Commissioners, and we consistently see Operators and drivers alike be called to a hearing before the Traffic Commissioner (whether that be a (i) Preliminary Hearing, (ii) Public Inquiry and/or (iii) a Driver Conduct Hearing) to consider the culpability of the Operator, Transport Manager(s) and the driver of a commercial vehicles involved in the bridge strike incident.

Regardless of the nature of the incident or the circumstances that surround it, the Operator is expected to have systems and processes in place to prevent a bridge strike from occurring in the first instance. This could be from ensuring that relevant and comprehensive training is in place for your drivers (and agency drivers) to implementing accessible policies and guidance documents.

The reality is that regulatory action is a real possibility against the Operator’s Licence, the Transport Managers repute and the professional vocational entitlement of the driver involved. At Backhouse Jones, our Chambers ranked Regulatory team deal with numerous Public Inquiries, Preliminary Hearings and Driver Conduct Hearings arising from bridge strikes where the Operators, Transport Managers and drivers all face potentially significant action.
Are you aware that you have to notify the Traffic Commissioner’s office of any relevant matters which affect good repute and professional competence within 28 days? This includes notifying the Traffic Commissioner of a bridge strike incident. We regularly assist Operators in making such notifications to the Traffic Commissioner. If one of your vehicles has been involved in a bridge strike or if you want to take the opportunity to review your existing bridge strike prevention systems and procedures, contact the Regulatory team on 01254 828300 or regulatory@backhouses.co.uk.

Given the ongoing prominence of the issue of bridge strikes, and to assist operators in preventing bridge strikes, we have also used our unrivalled expertise to develop a comprehensive eTraining course which features on a monthly basis – ‘A Bridge Too Far’ – that covers what bridge strikes mean in practice for operators, drivers and your compliance management systems and the implications of getting it wrong. For more details, please visit here.

If you are interested in our eTraining, email marketing@backhouses.co.uk to discuss individual training or bespoke organisational training.