Been here too many times . Upon interviewing various drivers:
It's a combination of driver inattention , minimal signage and the wrong GPS.
(overhead signs on entrance ramps would be a big help but nobody listens to me)
It's a common occurrence with non familiar commercial drivers that use portable non commercial GPS units to direct them in areas where they are not familiar with. They need to use a commercial APP.
They somehow end up being distracted while looking at the small screen to view where they are going or trying to go. This causes them to miss the reflective "no commercial traffic" warnings signs at 'on ramp entrances' .
At some locations of high frequency accidents, the state has implemented LED flashing portable signs . Politicians can't seem to fit the necessary funding into their budgets for necessary signage improvements.
The entrance to the SS pkwy eastbound from eastbound Penn. Blvd has 3 reflective warnings signs that the bus driver failed to notice. One of them reads "no vehicles over 7' 10" .
The second issue with this driver was the exceptional low overpass that he hit . I guess he forgot he was driving a bus and not his Buick . How big does an overpass bridge have to be in order for him to see it ?
Yes these parkways were designed way back when farms decorated much of Long Island's landscape. The construction cost is now through the roof to raise the roadways as well as the overpasses to a 14' height. Any tri-state roadway (except the NJ Garden state Pkwy which has partial restrictions ) with "parkway' attached to it is a no-no for commercial traffic.
The overpasses on the SS pkwy allow snow plowing using lower profile trucks, ambulances, fire vehicles and mini school buses will fit under without turning them into convertibles, especially if they use the center lane which offers additional height (most of the overpasses are curved).
These parkways were built to thin out commercial traffic from NYC to eastern L.I., offering a less expensive to repair alternative to commercial roadways like the L.I. Expressway rt 495.
