Fleet insurance broking specialist, McCarron Coates, says bridge strikes are the second most likely scenario to keep transport operators awake at night, with only a fatal or serious accident, involving a driver, ranking above them.
The broker says many operators devote huge amounts of time and effort to trying to prevent their bridge strike nightmares becoming a reality but do not have the power to stop that detrimental loss of driver concentration that is behind the majority of strikes.
“The thought of being called before the Traffic Commissioner following a vehicle colliding with a bridge is one that strikes fear into the heart of operators,” says McCarron Coates director, Ian McCarron.
Paul Coates (left) and Ian McCarron, two of the directors of McCarron Coates, a Leeds-based commercial insurance provider.
Credit: McCarron Coates
“It is hard for them to convey all the effort they have put into avoiding such a strike, because, at that point, all of that commitment to safety has still resulted in an incident. With their O-licence at risk, many sit there wondering what more they could possibly have done. Rather than having shown negligence or poor management, they have taken every step to prevent the strike, but still found themselves in the situation that nobody wanted.”
McCarron Coates says, for this reason, it is essential operators keep evidence of the steps taken with regard to bridge strike training. The Traffic Commissioner looks for signs of poor practice but having the documentation, training documents signed by drivers, and other evidence that everything possible was done to prevent the strike, can be an O-licence saver, if a defence is well constructed.
Warning bells should sound if a driver changes route, swaps vehicles or is replaced by an agency driver. Having systems in place to handle the briefing of agency drivers on bridge strike prevention is becoming imperative. So too is the use of automated systems – something the Traffic Commissioner increasingly wants to see in use.
Summer 2025 saw a series of high profile bridge strikes occurring but there are many more day-to-day strikes not making headlines. There are around 1500 reported strikes a year and many more go unreported.
Any bridge strike is automatically reported to the Office of the Traffic Commissioner (OTC), if Network Rail has had an asset damaged. The Highways Authority could similarly report any incident, particularly as the Traffic Commissioners are cracking down on bridge strikes.
Following a bridge strike, police can charge drivers with a criminal offence. This varies according to individual circumstances, the extent of injuries, and how the vehicle was being driven. Even if there are no third-party injuries, a motoring charge of ‘contravening a height restriction sign’ could be brought. This alone can result in fines and licence penalty points.
The Traffic Commissioner can summon an operator to a preliminary hearing, or conduct a full Public Inquiry, following a bridge strike. The OTC has the power to revoke an operator’s licence, or restrict it in scope, if they believe failings have occurred. In other cases, they will insist, in writing, that future standards improve. If negligent management is proven, a director of an HGV or PSV company could be disqualified.
Drivers, meanwhile, can face severe penalties, including a driver conduct hearing in front of the Traffic Commissioner and a six-month suspension of their vocational licence.
A tougher regulatory stance is being noted by LMP Legal, who work in partnership with McCarron Coates, providing the legal support behind the broker’s RTC Crisis Line product, offered free to all clients. This provides instant legal representation, should a driver be involved in a police-attended incident, including bridge strikes. The service enables the legal team to represent the driver – and ultimately the operator – in the right way.
The broker also offers an optional and unique Accelerate policy, in conjunction with JMW Solicitors. This provides a host of benefits but also gives policyholders vital and informed legal support in cases in which they are called before the Traffic Commissioner.
Both LMP Legal and JMW Solicitors report that tolerance of this type of incident is waning, making having the right safety net in place a priority.
McCarron Coates says, from an insurance point of view, that bridge strikes result in vastly increased premiums and excesses and, potentially, also a host of personal injury claims from injured third parties.
“We know operators want to eradicate this issue from their daily operations but strikes still happen. We would urge operators to continue to do all they currently do, with regard to driver awareness and the use of automated systems, but also recognise tech solutions can be flawed. If a sat-nav is swapped between vehicles, it can have the wrong height inputted for the new vehicle. It may also not be foolproof, if not updated regularly. Look for systems that won’t let you and the driver down,” says Ian McCarron.
The broker points to award-winning systems such as Parksafe Group’s Low Bridge Detection System (LBDS) for over-height vehicles. This issues both visual and audio alerts, if a hazardous low bridge is detected and automatically activates when at least 300 metres away from an upcoming bridge that presents an issue. Zero driver input is required, with the height and width of the vehicle inputted during installation. The system can detect up to 3750 low bridges across the UK and Ireland, with the database continually monitored and managed.
It also urges operators to make use of free assets. The Senior Traffic Commissioner, Kevin Rooney, was at the official launch of the Destination Xero Bridge Strikes campaign, at Road Transport Expo, in June 2025. Road Skills Online, as part of this campaign, has made its e-learning based toolbox talk on bridge strikes available for free. It can be accessed, by any operator who registers at https://www.roadskillsonline.com/bridge-strikes. Operators would be well-advised to take advantage of this resource.
“Preventing bridge strikes should be a major goal of every O-licence holder’s risk management,” says McCarron Coates director, Paul Coates.
“A bridge strike puts an operator’s day-to-day business at huge potential risk, so they must to be able to demonstrate their good practice to the full, recognising that a moment of fatal distraction can and does happen when drivers are out on the road. Being prepared for the worst-case scenario is key and that preparation should consist of training, automated systems and strong legal representation, instantly on hand, if required.”
