THERE have been 129 cases of vehicles hitting road structures like bridges and gantries since 2000, according to the Land Transport Authority (LTA).
Ten have occurred this year, including the two cases on the Tampines Expressway in the last two weeks.
About two in three of all such accidents involved drivers who did not retract the cranes installed on their lorries. The majority had forgotten to do so, said an LTA spokesman.
This included an accident in January when a lorry crane crashed into an overhead gantry along Sunset Way. This sent the gantry sign plummeting onto a taxi, injuring a passenger.
To prevent this, the LTA has issued information packages to lorry crane owners. The packages include a brochure and dashboard stickers that remind drivers to retract their cranes.
Trainee heavy-vehicle drivers trying for their Class 4 and 5 licences are also screened a video that 'stresses the importance of route planning, checking for height limits before moving off and the consequences of hitting road structures', the spokesman said.
Drivers who hit road structures can receive a maximum penalty of a $5,000 fine and two years in jail.
It is also an offence to drive a vehicle exceeding 4.5m in height without a police or auxiliary police escort.
This can attract a mandatory jail term of at least a year. The maximum punishment for breaking this law is three years' jail and a $2,000 fine.
Who pays for the repair if a heavy vehicle driver hits something like a bridge?
'The Traffic Police will investigate the matter and if the driver of the over-height vehicle is indeed found guilty, we will arrange to recover the cost of repair from the insurance company,' the LTA spokesman said.
