Big truck gets stuck in Zion tunnel; driver blames GPS

Raften, that is a very good point -- thank heavens we are not required to wear body cams to capture all of our misteaks! My "blooper reel" would be very long.

Yup, mistake but stuff happens and my bet is no one here can say they never make a bad decision. This one just had lasting problems.

It may be that his boss gave him a motivational talk and he was so pumped up he thought he could move mountains!

Can't fix stupid.

old guy wrote:
back in the forth's a semi got stuck at the umatilla army depot under the railroad track over pass. they tried every thing to get it out and couldn't. the semi was loaded with bombs for the war effort and a little kid told them he knew how to get it out and they ignored him until they finally gave up and said OK how do we get it out. he told them let air out of the tires so the truck is lowered. it worked.

Too simple and easy, no wonder the great minds could not think of it. :R

brooks379 wrote:
After being on the road for the last 35 years driving a semi coast to coast I would put money on it that the guy was from some other country and didn't understand what he was getting into. With all the very little English speaking , very little english understanding drivers I have seen lately it doesn't surprise me even a little bit. Now days it's a couple weeks training and you've got the job.....These trucking Co. today just want ...Meat in the seat !!

You got it right. Never did see any company name with this. And would be interesting to know more details.

Bottomline it is the drivers responsibility. You can try and blame GPS, or any other excuse you can conjure up up....but....the driver had his hand on the wheel, foot on controls and made the conscious decision to drive through (almost) the tunnel. Same as the Boy Scout leaders that pushed over the Goblins at the National Monument.
All bridges, tunnels and overpasses I am aware of are marked and signed. I know for certain the Zion tunnel is mark like a nuclear testing site.
This guy made a big mistake. Should he go to prison? No. Should he be held libal? Yes

GPS or no GPS. This one is going to take a bite out of somebody's Christmas bonus$$$$$$$$

http://webpub4qa.wsdot.wa.gov/data/tools/bridgeclearance/

is a vertical clearance planner for Washington state routes. It's under development, and has the disclaimer that it does not cover local roads, or even roads under state routes (e.g. under freeway).

The Skagit River bridge collapse a couple of years ago highlighted the need for comprehensive and accurate clearance data.

I wonder when/if the Truckers Atlas will update the clearances for that bridge. After replacing the downed span, the state replaced the curved stringers on the remaining spans.

After being on the road for the last 35 years driving a semi coast to coast I would put money on it that the guy was from some other country and didn't understand what he was getting into. With all the very little English speaking , very little english understanding drivers I have seen lately it doesn't surprise me even a little bit. Now days it's a couple weeks training and you've got the job.....These trucking Co. today just want ...Meat in the seat !!