Apparently, the ‘Low Clearance’ sign at the East Street Railroad Bridge in Westwood, MA, isn’t clear enough, as the passage has just claimed its 16th truck victim in the past year.
A 12-foot-6-inch tall, white truck slammed into the Westwood train bridge on Saturday afternoon with a surveillance video capturing the incident. Even though there’s a sign, the driver doesn’t seem to proceed with caution and as a result, the 10-foot-6-inch bridge shaved off the top of the truck. Luckily, no one was hurt.
This year alone, four trucks have crashed into the bridge – so far – but that’s “below the historical” average according to Westwood police Lieutenant Leo Hoban.
The local police department installed cameras on the location in 2013 after multiple crashes. The owners of the low-hanging bridge, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), say they’re examining three alternative solutions to the persisting problem.
“The other thing that was proposed was the idea of putting in bars before the bridge that will make a noise when you hit them, like they have on Storrow Drive,” Hoban told the Boston Globe. “But the neighbors weren’t too thrilled about having a bell that goes off all of the time.”
Below you’ll find a the video of the Saturday crash as well as of seven more incidents over the past year.