Management at Irish Rail have slammed lorry drivers in a scathing attack for their incompetence when it comes to height restrictions at bridges.
The company have labelled drivers of heavy goods vehicles as “dumb truckers” when they blatantly ignore simple logic. Irish Rail also say the basic intelligence of truck drivers has to be called into question with the number of bridge strikes on the increase.
Management say they have worked relentlessly to inform lorry drivers through improved signs and new technologies. The scathing attack comes as bosses say the consistent problem of large vehicles hitting bridges is one of the greatest safety risks that Iarnród Éireann faces.
A Spokesperson for the company Jane Cregen, said drivers commonsense must be questioned given the fact the number of reported incidents each year.
“It’s a fairly basic thing to know the height of your vehicle before you transport it through a restricted bridge height area,” she said. “The basic intelligence and competence of drivers involved in these incidents must now be called into question.
“Last Thursday, we had two bridges in the Grand Canal Dock area struck by two different truckers within two hours of each other causing massive delays in services and massive traffic disruption.”
Meanwhile Iarnród Éireann say they must carry out a structural assessment of the bridge before allowing trains to pass over following a hit. The company also said that in 2014, there were 85 bridge strikes across the network, but this year to date alone there has been 68 bridge strikes.