GPS Causing Truckers to Crash Into Bridges

[Glad Hand]

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York state wants to crack down on truckers who rely on satellite devices to direct them onto faster but prohibited routes and end up crashing into overpasses that are too low for their rigs.

Gov. David Paterson on Wednesday proposed penalties including jail time and confiscation of trucks to come down on drivers who use GPS — global positioning systems — to take more hazardous routes and end up striking bridges.

GPS Causing Truckers to Crash Into Bridges - Auto - FOXNews.com


It’s a crock of crap. Someone must be blowing wind up the ass of these liberal politicians in New York. The liberals are always looking for something new they can regulate or something new they can tax. The good thing is the good governor’s approval ratings are about as low as low gets!

I bet if someone did a real study we would find out that the rate of bridge strikes before the advent of GPS technology would be no different than it is today. In any event, if someone hits a low overhead it isn’t the GPS technology’s fault, it’s the fault of the incompetent driver behind the wheel who wasn’t paying attention or who otherwise stupidly put all his faith in a so-called trucking specific GPS device.

In any event, although there are a lot of companies now advertising that their GPS devices do truck specific routing, the reality is all of them are liars and rip offs since none of them have even come close to building a GPS device that can come anywhere near to doing truck specific routing good enough to be relied upon, although they will gladly separate you from your money, and if any driver is gullible and incompetent enough to blindly put his or her trust and faith in one of those so-called trucking specific GPS devices and hits something, then as for as I’m concerned they shouldn’t be on the roads in any case.

GPS technology is a tool, just like a MCRA, and it is as good or bad as the driver that uses them.

The bill would increase penalties for illegally using parkways and require all large commercial trucks to use GPS devices that route them away from restricted roads. It would also stick trucking companies or their insurance carriers with the bill for repairs and cleanup after bridge strikes.

Oh…I just noticed this garbage at the end. It’s obvious that this is just a money grab by corrupt liberal politicians trying to raise more revenues instead of cutting expenditures. If those liberal morons weren’t so incompetent and stupid, they wouldn’t require in their idiotic bill all large commercial trucking companies to use GPS devices that route them away from restricted roads because there are no such devices and there never will be such devices, since building such a device that can do truck routing good enough to be relied upon is beyond the reach of technology.

The trucking industry should start a campaign to expose these corrupt liberal politicians for what they are. Shysters and thieves!

And one more final thing…how will the trucking industry respond if this squeeze job and money grab passes the legislature and is signed into law? By raising rates to cover the new higher operating expenses and which inevitably will be passed onto the public. Thus, as always this is just another backdoor way of raising taxes that will ultimately be paid for by the public.

[geeshock]

not sure I agree with your outlook. I have noticed some drivers, mostly new to the industry, relying heavily on gps. Even though the gov doesn't have the whole story I think this is a way to try and curb that dependency. Common sense would tell me if that bridge looks low, slow down and check it out but you have many out there that still have a 4 wheeler mentality and don't "eyeball" the bridge, or see the houses that might indicate a residential area, or look for weight restrictions on bridges, etc. I hate government involvement but when THEY might have to pay for something that could easily be avoided, it makes sense.

ppl complain when they pay to much tax, then get upset when the government puts the responsability on the individual that causes the issue. Think about it, they need to get the money for repairs somehow, eather through the people (higher taxes) or the individual (insurance).

[Malaki86]

Does that mean if I *DO* have a truck-specific GPS unit in my truck, I can now blindly go wherever it says? If I hit a bridge because of it, the blame should lie upon the state of new york for not sending the proper data to the multiple map data providers and also the gps maker?

I see HUGE lawsuits on this one.

[Justruckin]

This is how I always handled GPS in my truck. When I hit a city like Chicago, it went to the off position. Always call the shipper or consignee and get directions in, especially in a city like Chicago or New York and follow them to the letter. Odds are you will get to your destination safe and sound with no damage to your truck or trailer.

[Malaki86]

I do the same, but one step further - I'll adjust my route on the GPS to match exactly what directions they give me.

[geeshock]

I don't turn my gps off. I don't know how many times at night in the rain it's helped me in downtown chicago. I don't follow the directions it gives me. I'd be totally insane to do that. I simply know what road I need to turn on and it does exactly what we were mentioning, it assists me and lets me know when my street is getting close. You know how hard it can be to read some of those road signs at night, in the rain, with lights shining your way? It also keeps me from getting nervous I passed my road, lol. I did that a few times in chicago when I was still new to trucking and it can be most unnerving, lol.

[Glad Hand]

Even though the gov doesn't have the whole story I think this is a way to try and curb that dependency.

What is going to happen is dependency is not going to be curbed. Not that I believe a lot of drivers are stupid enough to blindly place all their faith in a GPS device as I believe that drivers that hit low overheads would hit them regardless of using GPS devices or not because they are incompetent.

Without so much as a study to validate their claim and justify their bill, they are going to play on the emotions of voters and demonize GPS devices, truckers, and the trucking industry in order to generate additional powers and revenues for the state and states coffers.

They will make the trucking industry out to be the villain in order to increase regulations, penalties, and fees and ultimately it will be truck drivers, trucking companies, and the public that will all suffer the consequences because they will all end up paying for the state’s power and money grab, and in the end, ALL GPS devices used by truck drivers will end up being banned, because there are no GPS devices capable of doing trucking specific routing. Indeed, this is a perfect example of how an over reaching state stymies free enterprise and harms progress.

I hate government involvement but when THEY might have to pay for something that could easily be avoided, it makes sense.

Prove that GPS devices made those zero brains hit those low overheads. The reality is those incompetent zero brains have always been incompetent accidents waiting to happen and they would have hit low overheads with or without GPS devices. They didn't suddenly become incompetent overnight the minute they started using a GPS device.

[Glad Hand]

This is how I always handled GPS in my truck. When I hit a city like Chicago, it went to the off position. Always call the shipper or consignee and get directions in, especially in a city like Chicago or New York and follow them to the letter. Odds are you will get to your destination safe and sound with no damage to your truck or trailer.

I never turn my GPS off, ever, and I hardly ever call the shipper or consignees unless I can’t find them any other way. What I do instead is plan out my entire trip from start to finish beforehand. However, before I ever drive down the first road, I verify beforehand that the roads I plan to drive on are legal for 18-wheelers.

Just because you use a GPS device as a tool it doesn’t mean that truckers aren’t still responsible for trip planning and ensuring that the routes they travel on are legal for 18-wheelers. Anyone who stupidly follows a GPS device down any road that hasn’t been checked out first to ensure that it is legal beforehand is an incompetent fool and an accident waiting to happen. As for as I’m concerned, those drivers deserve what in the long run will inevitably eventually happen to them.

The problem is truck drivers are ignorantly buying GPS devices with the auto-rerouting feature. Auto-rerouting is a great feature to have if you are driving a 4 wheel vehicle, but for drivers of 73 foot long 18-wheelers it is an accident or a hefty fine waiting to happen because anytime a device has the auto re-routing feature turned on it is impossible to plan out your entire trip beforehand and ensure it is legal for 18-wheelers since every time you turn into a rest area or truck stop, the GPS devices will automatically recalculate the entire route and the route after it gets recalculated may be different each and every time it is recalculated, which makes it literally impossible for those routes to be checked out for legality beforehand.

Therefore, if drivers are using a GPS device that doesn’t allow them to turn the auto-rerouting feature off and also doesn’t allow them to easily customize and save their entire routes after they have been checked out to make sure they are legal for 18-wheelers, then those truck drivers are playing Russian Roulette with their driving careers and if enough of them get into accidents, they will end up getting all GPS devices outlawed and banned for the rest of us that do know how to safely use those GPS devices.

I use Streets & Trips exactly because the auto-rerouting feature can be toggled off and exactly because you can very easily customize your entire route any kind of way you need to, make sure it is legal for 18-wheelers before you ever begin your trip, and then save it so it cannot be arbitrarily changed by entering a rest area or a truck stop.

Thus, the reason I never turn off my GPS device is because I have already checked out my entire route beforehand, know that it is 100 percent legal for 18-wheelers, and therefore I use my GPS device for navigation and guidance.

Finally, anytime I get close to a shipper or a consignee, I turn off the radio so that I can listen to the voice guided turn-by-turn directions and keep my eyes peeled to the road.

[Glad Hand]

I'll adjust my route on the GPS to match exactly what directions they give me.

+1

And hopefully you are also verifying that they are legal for 18-wheelers beforehand.

[repete]

AHH YES another feel good law!! We have so many of them here in NY that it just give's me a warm fuzzy feeling. Don't ya just love it?

[geeshock]

Just trying to put in writing what was already the case. I beleave the company got charged b4. what probably happened, one lawyer got smart and said his company didn't have to pay becuse there are no laws in the books. He was right, government changed it.

[Kevin0915]

Does that mean if I *DO* have a truck-specific GPS unit in my truck, I can now blindly go wherever it says? If I hit a bridge because of it, the blame should lie upon the state of new york for not sending the proper data to the multiple map data providers and also the gps maker?

I see HUGE lawsuits on this one.

what it means, is that you wasted your money buying a truck specific GPS, IMO. and i say this because truck GPS' like any GPS isnt 100% accurate. Not to mention if you've spent $500+ on a "truckers" GPS, and it happens to route you down a non commerical road then its no good as a GPS for a 4-wheeler.

Besides, drivers who run into bridges and use the excuse "my GPS told me so"....should be drug out of the truck and shot.

[Double R]

Besides, drivers who run into bridges and use the excuse "my GPS told me so"....should be drug out of the truck and shot.

So should drivers who move barricades and go around road closed signs.

[Glad Hand]

what it means, is that you wasted your money buying a truck specific GPS, IMO. and i say this because truck GPS' like any GPS isnt 100% accurate. Not to mention if you've spent $500+ on a "truckers" GPS, and it happens to route you down a non commerical road then its no good as a GPS for a 4-wheeler.

Besides, drivers who run into bridges and use the excuse "my GPS told me so"....should be drug out of the truck and shot.

+1 It's refreshing to see a little common sense being applied.

[VPIDarkAngel]

While I see no reason for the whining about 'liberal' politicians in NY, I do think that this bill is a crock of manure as well. I also agree that one shouldn't rely on a GPS or Qualcomm directions or even shipper's directions in place of what they can see with their own eyes.

[Mr. Ford95]

Besides, drivers who run into bridges and use the excuse "my GPS told me so"....should be drug out of the truck and shot.

+2

That excuse is so d@mn lame, ought to cite them for aggravated stupidity for not realizing they had a low bridge they were about to plow into.

[Malaki86]

I guess that bridge strikes are something completely new. You know that not a single person ever hit a bridge before GPS's came into the scene.

[geeshock]

The bill might be lame but the solution is actualy simple. Stay off parkways and non truck routes. Don't trust your GPS (if you have one) and if a bridge looks even close to being to low, eather investigate or find another way. You do this chances are you won't have to pay a fine. I've had to stop short of a bridge and figure a way around in chicago and upstate NY and even in jersey city. SOmetimes it was as simple as backing up, one actualy had to call 911, they were suprisingly helpful and even escorted me right to the shipper and gave me the easiest way to get back to the interstate from the shipper.

[Glad Hand]

Don't trust your GPS (if you have one)

I trust my GPS but not until I have fully customized my entire route to ensure it is legal for 18-wheelers and verified that all the roads on my trip are legal for 18-wheelers, and you can’t do that with a GPS device that has the auto re-routing feature that can’t be toggled off, like all so-called trucking specific GPS devices have.

With the auto-rerouting feature turned on, every time a driver pulls into a rest area or a truck stop, the GPS device will automatically recalculate the remaining route, and every time it recalculates the remaining route, it could change and be different each and every time, which as for as I’m concerned renders the device absolutely useless for truck drivers, unless you are one of those kind of incompetent truck drivers that blindly trust their GPS device instead of their brains.

As for as low overheads go, I won’t go under any overhead obstruction unless I first determine that there is enough clearance for my truck to pass safely underneath.

[Kevin0915]

So should drivers who move barricades and go around road closed signs.

i forgot, you're the perfect driver, never had a ticket, never grind a gear, blah blah blah.......go suck one.