Rouen underpass eats another British motorhome

[busby]

I think if anyone read this thread before joining the life style - would think twice before parting with cash

Or learn to drive,,,BUSBY.

 

[busby]

But you would have thought for an outlay of only a few thousand they could do as has been done at the northbound Blackwall tunnel.

Fit a laser beam across the roadway, if the beam is broken by an over height vehicle it triggers two sets of traffic lights. The offending vehicle is then split from the traffic and redirected out.

The entire process takes about 3 minutes.
Over-height vehicles blocking the tunnel used to be a regular occurrence.
I cant remember the last time the tunnel was blocked since the fitting of the laser beam and lights

I can remember when it was one tunnel and two way i am sure,,BUSBY.

 

[LesW]

I can remember when it was one tunnel and two way i am sure,,BUSBY.

Me to, I used to travel through it a lot in the 60's & 70's..

I also remember the machine gun pock marks in the approach wall.

 

[busby]

Me to, I used to travel through it a lot in the 60's & 70's..

I also remember the machine gun pock marks in the approach wall.

Rotherhithe was in use back then but only one way for trucks,,BUSBY.

 

[Brains]

I can remember when it was one tunnel and two way i am sure,,BUSBY.

To remember it, you would need to be the wrong side of 60 years old.
To have driven through it when it was two way in the old tunnel you would need to be over 72 and had a motorbike licence at 17

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[Brains]

Rotherhithe was in use back then but only one way for trucks,,BUSBY.

It's still in daily use !
Which for a tunnel build for horse and carts is amazing.

The Victorians built more tunnels under the Thames than have been built in the 120+ years since.
Eastern London needs another 5 to 7 tunnels built, the arguments for building the Silvertown one have been gong on for decades. Unfortunately our politicians think 'long term planning' is the next 5 years, not the next 100 years

 

[SpeedyDux]

It's still in daily use !
Which for a tunnel build for horse and carts is amazing.

The Victorians built more tunnels under the Thames than have been built in the 120+ years since.
Eastern London needs another 5 to 7 tunnels built, the arguments for building the Silvertown one have been gong on for decades. Unfortunately our politicians think 'long term planning' is the next 5 years, not the next 100 years

If you stop to feed your horse that is reasonable use of the highway, therefore not an obstruction. Useful to know.

 

[busby]

To remember it, you would need to be the wrong side of 60 years old.
To have driven through it when it was two way in the old tunnel you would need to be over 72 and had a motorbike licence at 17

Qualify on both counts,,,was just thinking its 51 years since exemption/qualifying period for HGV license came in,,think it was Aug 69 to aug 70..If you were driving a class of HGV for 6 months during that period you automatically got a HGV license for that class. Plenty of fiddling went on,,,BUSBY.

 

[joemocks79]

We took our first time hire motorhome through Rouen and into the slip for that underpass 3 years ago. We didn't see any signage along the way until we had just started the descent and could see the height restriction so we dropped the anchors and had to reverse back up the junction, was approximately rush hour at the end of the day so we weren't popular but thankfully they're probably used to it and it's better than the alternative.
It did steer me to buying a specific motorhome sat nav that allows you to put the weight and dimensions of the motorhome in so it avoids impossible routes and gives you warnings on tight bends and ascents. Of course no technology is perfect so I'm extra cautious on pretty much any road that isn't clear and unrestricted as far as the eye can see.

 

[ramsthom]

Never actually through Rouen. I follow the A28 down to Rouen but just before the 3 tunnels leading to the bridge that crosses the river take the slip road to Vernon, Pontiose. on the D6015. Cross the traffic lights and turn left and keep in the right hand lane with the church on right. After another set of lights keep right onto D6015. The river is on the right This leads to the A154.

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[Dagraton]

In the same vein -
My previous motorhome was 2.9 metres high and that might not include the aerial.
Last year, we were in Brittany, leaving Lorient on the way to Ploemeur. It was a busy, high-speed arterial road with some road works and various diversions. We suddenly found ourselves, following the road signs, heading down to an underpass. I saw the sign on the descent to the underpass by which time, in heavy traffic and travelling at some speed, we were committed. It was too late to brake hard and there was no escape route. We clattered into the rubber mats hanging from a gantry but just got though the underpass. By how much we got through I don't know but it must have been a few inches at most. There were some marks on the 'forehead' of the motorhome from the warning mats but that was the extent of the damage. I returned to check the sign, from a distance. We were over the height limit so technically, we should have hit the roof of the underpass but presumsbly they build in a safety margin. The leading edge of this underpass was damaged in many places so clearly, we were not the first and I noticed that the last minute warning provided by the hanging rubber mats was far too late to take any avoiding action.
It was a serious lesson!

 

[Spriddler]

We were over the height limit so technically, we should have hit the roof of the underpass but presumably they build in a safety margin.

That's worth knowing as mine's also 2.9m high.





(Maybe not though).

 

[Northernraider]

Going by that photo ...thats either a lot higher than 1.8metres or that vans midget sized
Im 193cm tall and if i stood next to that van my head wouldnt touch the underside of the overcab

Gutted for the guy though ive had a few bum clenchers with bridges in the past ...

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

Seems not just France

A few years back in Emsworth near where I live!!
This local firm normal ferry school kids around, very lucky that day.
Obviously never believed all the flashing lights that go off when you approach!!

 

[steve69]

In the same vein -
My previous motorhome was 2.9 metres high and that might not include the aerial.
Last year, we were in Brittany, leaving Lorient on the way to Ploemeur. It was a busy, high-speed arterial road with some road works and various diversions. We suddenly found ourselves, following the road signs, heading down to an underpass. I saw the sign on the descent to the underpass by which time, in heavy traffic and travelling at some speed, we were committed. It was too late to brake hard and there was no escape route. We clattered into the rubber mats hanging from a gantry but just got though the underpass. By how much we got through I don't know but it must have been a few inches at most. There were some marks on the 'forehead' of the motorhome from the warning mats but that was the extent of the damage. I returned to check the sign, from a distance. We were over the height limit so technically, we should have hit the roof of the underpass but presumsbly they build in a safety margin. The leading edge of this underpass was damaged in many places so clearly, we were not the first and I noticed that the last minute warning provided by the hanging rubber mats was far too late to take any avoiding action.
It was a serious lesson!

I suspect that myself, like most people who catch the rubber hangings, thought - "Bugger! (or similar words) Maybe I can just get away with it." And continue rather than stop there and then.

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[bobnick]

I stopped dead when i hit the rubbers entering a tunnel in Nice.

 

[Minxy]

I stopped dead when i hit the rubbers entering a tunnel in Nice.

That would be my reaction too, no way would I risk carrying on regardless of how much traffic or hassle it caused.

 

[nicholsong]

I would be with my namesake and Mel. I am over-cautious; I was once confronted with a bridge sign which stated just over our 3m ht.. but knowing that some roads may have been resurfaced twice and I could see the roadway rising at the far end, I kicked the co-pilot out to act as 'banksman'. No need, even at lowest we had 0.4-0.5m to spare. But I would rather have it that way.

I still have not measured our exact height but rely on a laminated card from previous owner, on which the other dimensions have allowances so hopefully the height has too - unless the TV aerial was added after but even then I do not attempt a bridge with less than our ht plus 0.3m.

In France our excellent Michelin large scale map has bridge hts. marked.

Geoff

 

[Jaws]

Nearly did it in Pisa.... I was not exactly man of the day to all the poor sods whose day I really messed up !!!

 

[Richard n Ann]

I once went under a bridge ok in France that was marked 70mm lower than our skylight. They must have a 100mm tolerance, plus we were loaded up more so the van would have been a bit lower on the suspension

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