Mickey Rooney… is out to get us.
The crash was horrendous, and the only thing that makes it PG rated is the fact that the coach was empty.
A New Jersey operator was asked to pick up an inbound group at Boston’s Logan Airport. The driver headed towards Terminal B and was doing pretty well, until he nailed an 11’ high overhead concrete structure so hard that the top of the bus was pushed back 5’. The ceiling of the restroom dangled over the rear bumper, and the front end looked like an old Scenicruiser.
In this particular model of coach, the driver’s seat was 2 steps below the passenger platform, which may have saved his life.
To his credit, the driver was completely honest with investigators… admitting that he hadn’t slowed or even applied the brakes. He’d never been to Logan before, but assumed that no one would be goofy enough to design an airport with clearances too low for modern motorcoaches.
Welcome to Massachusetts.
This accident was around 2001 and that overhead is still there. In writing this, it seemed clever to look up Logan’s height clearances on the internet. Google and I searched for several minutes, and the only reference I could find was on a site run by drivers of entertainer’s crew buses. It shouldn’t be that difficult.
In ye olden days a key parameter of bus design was keeping overall height under 12’. It was a magic number because there were still lots of 12’ garage doors scattered around the country. Modern doors are at least 14’ to accommodate the 13’6” vehicles now allowed on interstate highways.
A few 12’ doors are a bit like Mickey Rooney, short, but around for a very LONG time. Sometimes slightly taller doors are sneaky. Layers of either additional paving, or snow, can create a problem. Entering too fast may produce a bounce if the surface is uneven. The faster you go, the higher the bounce… you get it.
Which brings up a point… when we’re driving, we need to look out the windshield occasionally. Not only are low clearances generally marked, but if we pay attention, they look… low. Is the posted height for the center of the road? Or the shoulders?
Some drivers trust GPS routing designed for trucks. Remember, no matter how long you’ve been on the road, that seductive electronic voice is NOT your friend.
Clearances change, particularly during the summer construction season, when temporary bridges often fail to notify the GPS gods. Sometimes road signs lie.
Again, the occasional glance out the windshield can help.
It’s good to know how tall the vehicle you’re driving is… lots of modern coaches exceed 12’, and a few are over 13’. Most manufacturers post that information on the dash, but there are a few considerations. I don’t speak Metric, but our Canadian and Mexican neighbors do, so if you’re visiting either one, a little calculation in advance might be helpful.
The bus builder may not be aware of the TV antenna added after delivery. Rooftop HVAC’s are common today, and vulnerable, so they need to be correctly maintained and zipped up. Air suspensions depend on “leveling valves” to determine height, and sometimes they get confused, or are incorrectly installed.
Bear in mind that no two buses, regardless of model and fleet, are exactly the same altitude.
On some coaches, the highest points on the roof are the roof hatches. When those jewels are popped open for ventilation, they add several inches to overall height, kinda like a bad wig.
When a peek out the windshield suggests clearance will be a near thing, stopping and conducting a scouting trip might be in order. If it’s still uncertain, a really clever driver can con a friend into pooching their head through the emergency hatch for a close up, real-time, look.
You want to be careful with that one. Go REAL slow… because whacking your pals will make them reluctant (or unable) to help in the future.
Before buying equipment, it’s worthwhile to consider your infrastructure, and where your coaches travel, for possible conflicts.
Years ago I got a call from one of my most sophisticated customers asking me the height of the new model buses he had on order. When told that they were 11’10”, he said “NOOO…” they had to be 11’8”.
It turned out that he’d be able to get them INTO one of his busiest terminals, but the exit was 11’9”. Unless we wanted them trapped there forever, like dinosaurs in a tar-pit, we needed to lower them 2”.
A couple of frantic calls to Engineering, and the problem was solved. On this model of bus, dropping the leveling valves 2” actually improved handling, and the only downside (pun intended) was a reduced “angle of departure”. No sweat in his particular service.
