I have a question; my trainer and I were talking about low clearance
bridges and how to avoid them.
In the Rand McNally motor carriers atlas, some are listed in the front,
but my trainer said that not all are listed, esp. in cities.
Is there a softwear for truckers that lists the low clearace locations in cities, or can you get maps that specifically list low clearance locations?
The trailer is 13'6.

pronghornracer

 

As long as you stay on the major highways and roads, you should not have a problem. Most are well marked. I think Rand McNally has most of the low clearances that you should need to worry about.

 

Most places that have low bridges,are either downtown where you are loading,unloading,or it is somewhere a truck has no business being in. :P

 

Don't know about other cities, but Chicago puts out a low clearance map that is updated regularly and pretty good. The state of Illinois also includes many Chicago low clearance locations on it's Truck Route map. Both maps available at City hall, many DMV offices, and online.

 

These guys are telling you right. Also, most drivers that top trailers arent consciencious enough to find out where the low clearances are, they usually rely on other drivers via CB to know which way not to go. When I was an ops mgr, I would get about 2 trailers a month split open and then just dropped at a shipper. Once a driver took a 13' 6" trailer under an 11' bridge without stopping. OUCH!! Use the listings in front of the atlas and if you are in a "downtown" area, know where you are going so that you dont get hung up. Dont just blindly rely on dispatch/qualcomm directions either. Road signs dont lie (usually).

 

Here's one for you to check out.
STEWARTS' DATABASE OF WORLD ROADS, TOLLS, TUNNELS AND LOW BRIDGES
It's my own site and it has a fairly comprehensive (and growing) list of low bridges (low clearances) from around the world.
Some of the pages are fairly large and can take a few seconds to load though.
Hope it helps.