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QUESTION:Highway tractor hauling a shovel on trailer almost slices overpass in
half. Notice the rear wheels of the trailer still behind the shovel.
are some drivers really that friggin' stupid?
I wonder how that little excavator was loaded?
They must have had the stick right angled to the boom and the bucket
uncurled and set down on a pile of slabs or something
ANSWER: No kidding: I'd imagine both the driver, as well as whomever put the
excavator on the flatbad would have been fired (I hope) or severely
disciplined: The stick should be fully retracted under the boom, with the
bucket curled up and inward, with the boom fully lowered in front of the
carbody. The top of the boom should normally extend no more than a couple
of feet from the top of the cab; This accident was *completely*
preventable.
Mind you, a good driver should *also* always be aware of his or her
clearances: Even with the excavator poorly stowed, (s)he should have
known damned well on approach to the bridge that he wasn't going to make
it.
The only excuse that comes to mind would be a malfunction in the
excavator in which power was left on and the boom was elevated in transit
- again, though, that's both operator/driver error: Without power, the
default action of the boom is to *lower* without hydraulic pressure
applied and definitely not raise (Too damned heavy to be affected by wind
resistance)
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