Car carrier truck driver wrongly reported as stuck under Cape Town bridge applauded
Car carrier truck driver wrongly reported as stuck under Cape Town bridge applauded

With the Boksburg gas tanker explosion still deep in the minds of South Africans, a video of a car carrier truck suspected to be stuck under a bridge on the N1 at the Woodstock bridge quickly went viral on social media on Friday.

SA Trucker can confirm that the truck was not stuck, the driver carefully and skillfully passed and proceeded with his trip.

The public was quick to question the driver’s qualifications without the full circumstances of the incident.

The 9-second video shot by a passing motorist shows the truck parked in the middle lane halfway through a bridge. The narrator mentions that the truck is stuck under the bridge.

The truck driver can be seen moving away from the combination as he looks to check the clearance between the truck and the bridge.

Reasonably so, he is transporting expensive vehicles including a Mercedes Benz G Wagon which became the spotlight of the whole incident.

Without full circumstances, social media users called the driver names and questioned his qualifications.

City of Cape Town’s Alderman JP Smith joined the public to question the driver’s competence pointing out that the height of the bridge was clearly visible.

South Africa needs to get back to driving basics after a truck got stuck under the bridge on the N1 inbound, at Paarden Eiland.

“Is it the result of decreased enforcement over the years or the result of fraudulent licenses being issued?” Smith asked.

SA Trucker, however, being a trucker-run platform, reported the incident as a ‘negotiation between the driver and the bridge’ well knowing that the driver was just being extra-careful. It’s one of the qualities that lacks in many other truck drivers.

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SA Trucker is proud to announce that the truck driver made it safely through the bridge.

As an experienced driver, despite the fact that you know the height of your vehicle, you still have to be extra careful. As you enter any low bridge you feel like your head is going to bump into the bridge, that feeling encourages you to recheck or proceed carefully if you are confident the truck will make it through.

It is indeed an inconvenience for other motorists if you would stop in the middle of the road to confirm if you can pass or not, but it’s better to be sure than to take chances.

It’s normal for an experienced truck driver to check twice before proceeding especially if the clearance is not big.

After getting confirmation from a traffic official at the scene that the vehicle carrier did not make contact with the bridge, Smith applauded the driver for his awareness of the load height versus the clearance height.

“Such bridge collisions sadly, are a regular occurrence elsewhere, such as in Muizenberg, albeit mostly with smaller style goods vehicles. Despite numerous warning signs and signalling devices before the bridge,” said smith.

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