Clark Memorial Bridge Crash Reveals A Complicated Problem

Read the full story on Backfire News

By now you have undoubtedly seen footage of the semi-truck crash on the Clark Memorial Bridge in Louisville, Kentucky. It’s been all over social media and news broadcasts after it was released to the public even though the crash happened back on March 1.

Potato chips turn out to be dangerous for this truck driver.

We’ve included the video in case you haven’t seen it or want to watch it again. While a lot of people have just remarked how scary it is, we have a different take.

Like so many dashcam videos of sudden crashes, this just reinforces that we always have to be ready for anything on the road. We don’t really think the semi-truck driver could’ve done anything differently. She was staying in her lane and suddenly stopping or swerving a vehicle that size isn’t possible.

What’s more, even with her commanding view in the cab, she couldn’t see the little pickup truck which crossed the double yellow line right into her path. There was a commercial truck in front of it, blocking her view, so she had literally a split second to react.

That impact steered the semi right towards the guardrail on the bridge and left the driver in the dangling cab for 45 excruciating minutes while rescuers worked to get her out. We can’t imagine what was going through her head during the ordeal.

As a driver, you have to always be prepared. It’s just a part of driving responsibly.

There’s another aspect of this story we find interesting. Local news station WHAS11 says Clark Memorial Bridge averages an accident every four days. The bridge itself is 95 years old and so state engineers are considering just not allowing semi-trucks on it at all. It obviously was never designed for such vehicles, especially the guardrails.

Even worse, the bridge is narrow and the only thing dividing oncoming lanes of traffic is a painted line. A solid divider isn’t being considered since that would require eliminating one lane in each direction. But cement barriers between the traffic lanes and the sidewalks on both sides are under consideration.

Perhaps it’s just time to build a new bridge that works with modern vehicles? We know that’s far easier said than done, but it sounds like the problem isn’t going away.

Image via WTHR/YouTube