20 years ago, I was driving a tractor trailer on the BQE when I almost panicked seeing 12'6" clearance. A local guy ahead of me said don't believe what it says, and I went through with no problems. I agree, mark the clearance what it is. It's dangerous enough driving through the city, without crap like that.

Thanks for helping that guy out its nice to know good human values still exist.

First I want to say thank you for helping the driver out. Second Let me correct you a little. Bridges market wrong not only in NYC but in the whole NYS. Reason why they do that my cdl professor said because when it snows and ice builds on the road the height changes. Weird because im pretty sure it snows in more than just New York State. Thanks again

im a trucker and what u did was awesome. u saved that guy from a huge ticket. thank you.. and ive never been to nyc and dont plan on going there. my brother used to go there and deliver and he has not gone back. i think that whole state needs to understand one thing. no trucks no food or supplies. simple as that. nyc dont understand that that place is already over populated

Thnx 4 helping truckers. Last time I was there I stopped at a bus stop and asked some people waiting on bus for directions while in Queens. They we're really helpful And got me exactly to where I was trying to get to.

Thanks for helping these guys. Appreciate that. I'm a trucker myself and I'm from NYC. I promised myself I'll never drive to NYC lol

You’re an intelligent and helpful human being…two traits that are rarely bonded together

I absolutely love your bridge videos, and I hope you make more!

Was in Manhattan 2006 no gps just map. And almost took I believe its called battery park tunnel I could be wrong. But God bless this local trucker that happened to see me and had me follow him where I supposed to go. Will never forget him. As crazy as New York is there are some decent people.

FYI they mark the 1 foot lower for winter due to ice accumulation. but good for you for helping.

Wow men you are one of a kind, am a truck driver for a living and actually saved his life🙏 God bless you

You are a cool dude,I m sure without a doubt,you were that driver's angel that day,I would ve never imagine NYV had kind ppl like you.

Thank you for helping truckers buddy

Awesome job👍 The way u took ur time took several pics and detail info. Big respect🙏✌️👍

I'm impressed that a trucker with poor English skills knew the height of his truck and could read the height signs. Plenty of American drivers don't do either.

New York State Law requires the legal clearance of all bridges to be signed one foot lower than the actual bridge clearance. So the City of New York is only following state law by signing them one foot lower.

I drove a semi in NY a few times and came across this same problem, but in a small town. A local told me that the bridges in town were mis-marked just as you said. It was explained to me that the reason they are marked the way they are is to account for possible snow pack on the road in the winter.

I once took an MTA express bus that used the Grand Central. I've seen out of service MTA express buses on the Belt Parkway. I agree that they should stop playing games with the overpass heights. For example, the Brooklyn Bridge has a 11 foot clearance. I've seen a few buses illegally use the bridge- and not one of them hit the steel trusses. They just put the clearance signs there so heavy vehicles wouldn't use the 130 year bridge. You correctly point out that on arch bridges, a truck or bus will likely make it through the middle lane, but not the side lanes.

Good on you for helping him. I've been honked at for going under Bruckner pedestrian bridge.. On the truck route... Marked 12'8".. by other drivers who had shut down and didn't realize it's 13'8. Yes I know it's tight but I fit with a couple inches to spare every time. I don't miss getting unloaded in NY lol.

Thanks for helping us truckers out I ran in to a problem in New York

great knowledge to learn from u sir,, thank u

I'm from tx, cdl. I was taught that nyc marks their bridges like that because when it snows, that would be the real height with the compact of the snow

well done on helping trucker & not just having a go at him. they mark bridge heights wrong here in the uk. ive been under bridges marked lower then my truck height & had a foot to spare

What you said about mismarked bridges is true I feel, I saw one on the interstate (I think 95) that's measured at 13' 5" but there were 4 trucks in front of me that already got under it without a care in the world, after I slammed on the brakes and pulled off...

I drive a London Bus in London , we have many arched bridges that are lower at the edges than the hight of the Bus i drive. But we have lines on the bridge indicating at what position you need to be to pass under safely.

This is just like Harlem Ave. in Chicago. The bridges say 11ft but are actually 13'8" Only us drivers that run Chicago regularly know this.

thanks for help those drivers I am a truck driver and I have seen similar situations when it happens i just think if would've me, and i help when I get the opportunity to due and tell that person that is OK we are humans we do mistakes.

I work for the mta, buses are allowed on for parkway , but at certain sections, I'm a tow driver and mechanic, they have to get off at certain intervals, and must have a permit.

thank you for all this information crazeenydriver

Good job saving that guy! Interesting story!

I started driving a tractor early last year just coming up on my one year... while i was in training i had to go through ny alot in my first month and ran across these same issue my self... the first time was with my trainer and i think the sign read 10 9... when i saw the sign i almost shit my pants couse we where at highway speeds lucky he was the one driving and driven this route befor... the route we where on was legal for us to be on and i did check this in the trip planing... this is something they need to redo alot of the signs for safety couse new drivers while cause traffic back ups for no reason also causing a safety issue as well

This happened to me when I first started driving 2 years ago In New York

after my 2 accidents in Queens, in 1999, i never went to NYC again. if the company i was working for, routed me through NYC, i went around, even paying the bridge toll @12 bucks, out of pocket, to avoid going through. 1 company offered me 2 cents more if i would deliver in NYC, i refused. if i had a load going to NYC, i would drop the trailer at a truck stop near the NY state line. upstate NY was fine, but never NYC.

Good jod Joe love your videos .

Nice thanks for the heads up man

I was always told that where the sign is placed on the bridge is the height for that spot you can see it's higher where the truck was but I'm sure you are right about it being miss marked

Been on LIE(I495) a lot of those bridges are marked low as well I used to go to a terminal in Queens. You are so right about some of these new truck drivers who used GPS, to save a buck they buy car only , not trucks

Actually when they mark sides like that it means the sides where it’s curved is 11’7” so in other words trucks have to drive through the center. I see bridges like this all the time in Ca

I once accidentally drove a moving truck on this road. I didn’t see any signs. I’m sure they exist but I think the signs need to be much bigger as you are leaving the boundaries of the city. I was on the road for a good 15 miles before I realized and, fortunately, I didn’t get a ticket or crash into a bridge!

To be fair I use to live just down the street from here. Thats area is confusing as all hell. If you have never driven here before I could see you easily missing signs and making wrong turns even if you do see them.

thank u so much for this video

God bless your heart sir. You saved hiss ass.

"You see us everywhere!" on the back of the truck

This is why I REFUSE ANY LOAD to NYC. I won't get off the interstate, I'll go THROUGH NYC but I will never deliver anything to anywhere in NYC.

Incorrect. Most older bridges in NYS are mismarked lower than actual, due to an accident in the 1970s where a truck was topped, the driver sued and won. The state at the time then ordered all of the brides marked 1 foot lower Thats how i heard it in 1994

Great video!!!!

Same like in France, on side line 3, 8 meters and sign before 3,8, but on middle can go with 5 meters.

Joe, love your videos and commentary. I'm also a subscriber. I'm a Professional Teamster Freight Hauler domiciled in Carlisle, Pa., but I'm from Newark, Nj. and have been running the 5 Boros as well as LI, NY. for 41 yrs. I was always well aware of the NYC Bridge Heights. NYC measures from the center of the hubs to the Bridge , not from the ground. Why?, I don't have that answer, but you are correct, it's the Driver's fault for not following signs about no Trucks and Buses on the Parkways.

NY marks the lowest point of the a bridge as the bridge height. I go through that everyday as I do door to door car delivery from MA to NY/NJ. In Brooklyn under the subway bridges, most of those say 11' and change, but I go through there a lot higher. 11' is the lowest point usually on the far right or far left where there might be a piece of pipe sticking out and such. I have seen a bridge marked 3' lower because of that, it still freaks me out everytime since I'm driving around at 12'6".

wow,i am from the west and appreciate your video good job.....

I'm a 🚚 driver, driving 18 wheeler for 30 years. I agree with you 💯... New York City need to change this foolishness with signs on road & highways. The problem is not with sign on parkwayess only!! They have this stupid sign on EXPRESSWAYS Also (which is a truck route). Lots of time you see out of state's driver slam their brakes suddenly fearing the low clearance (on signs only) very sad.

Thank you.

Drove tractor trailer over the George Washington bridge in NYC back in 2009. Way to much stress. Never, ever again.

As a 20 year car hauler I enjoy delivering in the metro NY area once you know where you're going it isn't bad at all,it's 95% common sense and 10% skill and being careful,the first time trips are always a royal pain,getting directions from people that sometimes don't speak clear and proper English and hoping the directions you got are correct and avoiding low bridges in the process,my truck loaded with cars is just about 70' long(car haulers are a money tree to local and state DOT cops,one inch overhang or being where you're not suppose to be and getting a ticket is their "welcome to NYC present from them to you",getting lost and ending up on a PKWY is a death wish..........lol) ,but getting directions from other drivers that have been to where you're going is a very big plus, If there's a dealership i love to hate(and there are many),there's a Porsche dealership in Manhattan for example,car carriers are not allowed on the street at the dealer at anytime but the guy has a holding yard 3 miles away with armed guards,while his receiving hours are from 9am to 5pm Mon-Fri,if you're unable to make it by at least 3:30 (stuck in traffic)don't bother showing up until the morning (but if you're inside the lot unloading at 4 that's not a problem) as there's no place to park,no place to stay overnight the lot is in a not so nice neighborhood and you can't just pull up in the mornings to wait(If you value your load and life) until he opens you must time the trip so when you get there at 9am the gate can be opened and be let in. Sometime around 1980 (first time trip to NY) I once got lost (going to that damned Porsche dealer) and somehow ended up on "that's right a PKWY" (to this day i can't tell you how that happened,but i had one car left to deliver so i didn't make any non factory convertibles ) the good thing I didn't get a ticket( the cop still had choice words for me),the bad thing I got my ass rimed by the terminal manager when i got back home.

that is so true it say 12'6 but bridges is alot higher when I was at Queens

in uk they as u say Mark the highest part no marking unless 16ft 6 inch or higher they could tunnel Rd to make clearance higher

that's not the LIRR tracks up there. those are NYCTA subway tracks that lead to the Kew gardens train yard

Lots of places up north mismark their bridges. They are usually all a few feet higher than they read. They are marked that way (from what I was told)for the winter time to leave room. Like if you were driving on a foot of snow and ice. But I try not to make it a habit of pushing my limits.

Chicago is another city where they mismark underpasses, years ago Chicago had trolley cars with overhead wires almost everywhere in the city, bridges that were 13'-6" were with the wires dropped the height to 12'-6", when buses came into the picture they took down the trolley wires but on streets they didn't want heavy trucks they left up the 12'-6" low clearance signs,and to ice the cake they put up 5 ton weight limit signs on some streets, now for the most part truck drivers that see these warning signs stay clear of these areas,but like metro NY and elsewhere there's a few drivers that don't pay attention,or those that never been in these areas get their trailers ripped off going under these bridges,however most of these low bridges can accept a 13-6 trailer,local and road drivers (like myself for 32 years) know this and deliver safely, but on Western Ave for example there's a low underpass that at least once a week a truck driver get ether hung up or the right corner of his truck torn off,still despite the city having a 800 number drivers can call to avoid these bridges and a street map drivers can buy at area truck stops that show most of the height restrictions in town,drivers still get themselves into trouble driving on streets they shouldn't be on.

New York is not wrong The bridges are marked at the lowest height which is the end of each bridge not the middle. They do this so people know what is the maximum for each lane. The left lane is 11 ft 7 in the middle could be taller but they have to do at the lowest for safety

As far as the height is concerned, you also have to realize that sometimes the trucks and especially the big busses will have an array of antenna that will be higher than the allowance which will definitely break at full spead. Also, when they repave, sometimes the roadway will be higher, especially when they are adding tar to a concreate roadway instead of removing the bad surface. Also, you may have noticed that on old bridges, there is etched into the wall the height at the time the bridge was made that is about a foot higher than what is currently posted.

Sections of the FDR & HRD are WITH a permit issued by the NYCDOT. That is why you see MTA express buses (11'-5" in height, also what I operate)on them. The permit allows travel from Dyckman Street to 116 Street S/B & 127 Street to Dyckman Street N/B. FDR 20 Street to Battery Park both directions. The restriction is due to both height & weight in those section where the permit is not valid. The signs you see are not wrong they are the posted lowest height at that yellow sign, a white sign is the height at that point or the maximum total height of the structure. Anything over 14 feet does not need to be signed.

Thank you

Hi that was nice of you to help the Guy. So I have a F650 that is not commercial. Can I drive this Truck on Parkways?

That bridge height is CORRECT, hence the placement of the signs. Specifically under the signs is that height. Alot of bridge height signs in NYS are usually for the shoulder height unless the sign is in the middle...NYSDOT Sign guy for 3 years and I've been driving for 18 yrs.

The bridges in New York all over are like that their ones I new I can get thru and some can not. Even in Pa but can get a map of bridge and weight at the rest stops. This was in the 90s when I haul Golf Cars in NY-Pa -WV. I know Idea now. I like your KZfaq cannel. I used to delivery in New York City once a wild there be shot going thru may trailer the shop would find it.

I didn't drive when I didn't know the lay of the land. NYC was pretty crazy -- Paris, France here can be worse, actually. If the bridges are marked incorrectly, that's invalidating a kind of Anglo-Saxon contract, but really, if the whole road is marked inaccessible for certain vehicles, that is fairly clear, right? Right near where I live outside Paris, there was a barrier to keep big trucks off a highway where they were not allowed. They kept crashing into it and destroying it! It's not impossible to check routes in advance, even without fancy systems, and not stuff. My husband is Parisian and only learned to drive over a decade ago -- he puts post-its on the dashboard.

Above 125th they are probably allowed. NYC citybus Routes like the BxM1 and the M98 travel along that section of road between 125th and 175th and 207th St respectfully.

Real Angel💯👏💪👍

it's 11'7" exactly where it is marked. the sign is correct, the only reason he can make it through is because of the center of the arch. plus, other states miss mark bridges also.

I know the most scary evil word for a truck driver is Parkway.

Any commercial vehicle/truck/etc is not allowed on the Harlem River Dr at any time.

why do they leave bridges mismarked. it's entirely trolling from the city itself. they know it's an issue and they leave it be. countless accidents caused by this aswell. when i was a new trucker my trainer was driving under all kinds of bridges like this. asking me what does that bridge height say? what is our truck height? then he'd drive under it full speed.

I'm a truck driver, it's common knowledge that New York bridges are marked a foot lower. It's generally believed that they are allowing for snowpack. Also here experienced truckers note to stay off of Parkways.

Joe design an app for trucks for NYC u will make a fortune ur going straight to heaven for all ur help

i been in this area and it's very confusing...

every single entrance to a parkway have signs displaying passengers cars only and a photo of no trucks. Leading up the the entrance they have signs saying no trucks. Even the most remote entrance to a parkway have sings no trucks.

NY STATE LAW - must be 1.0 feet more clearance than signed.

On the harlem river drive you have to get off at 125th street and take local streets, going downtown and on uptown side is 34th street, I use to drive buses,

In all of New York State the bridges are routinly marked a foot lower than actual.

NY mesasures the vertical clearance from the bumper up, correct me if I’m wrong. But Its true they miss mark the bridges because I passed under a 11’8ft over pass in a 13’6ft and luckily nothing happened. This was a first time downtown Bronx delivery and I had missed the turn I was supposed to take. There was nowhere else to turn, no room for a U turn and nothing but dead end streets. That was a first and last time I delivered to NY city. Very inconvenient, shitty roads, narrow lanes, always congested, old and miss marked road signs that don’t correspond to the present situations. My advice is never go to NY city with semis unless you work/live there and/or have no choice because of job requirements. Like I said went once and never again.

classic build roads busses can't even go ....amazing

hello crazeenydriver, i'm a retired truck driver. the answer to your question about why ny bridges are marked wrong is They are actually Correct. for some reason ,i never found out why for sure, is the planners there measure from "Top of curb to lowest point of bridge". only a few OLD CITIES do this, but that is why you see those numbers. you can go out sometime and measure yourself. Bruce Guinn

New York should be sued for that

Correct me if I am wrong. Nation wide, if it says "Parkway", that is a "Clue" to Drivers to Stay Off!.

in new york city the height is measured from the curb up..everywhere else height is measured from the street up

It's the entire state of NY not just NYC

I was told that new york measure from axle to the top

It’s not nyc it’s nys. I live in Buffalo ny and it’s the same thing. It’s a bridge labeled 11’9 but at 13’6 you can get under it. Now their are some bridges labeled 11’9 you better not try. I agree tho labeling a bridge a foot shorter is a terrible idea and dangerous.

pawkway

they miss Mark because they don't want trucks on those roads and just in case a truck might make a wrong trun he can get by. There is a lot of drivers that don't know N.Y. bridge

Now i was on the GWPW the other day traveling towards NJ, i noticed u not allowed on the left lane before the bridge, but my trainner said it was ok because the bus and truck have to take that lane because u have to be on the top part of the bridge vs the bottom pt...i notice to left side said 12' 7 i was like yooo u see the sign but he said the same thing signs or mis-mark to trap CMV to get $$$ in fines...so yah nyc be on some bs when it comes to getting cmv, luck i was driving a flat bed with lumber that was only 12'6 tall...if by myself i would had missed the exit to the upper pt and panic as well...so lesson here if u can avoid nyc "DO IT"....

That's not true that only NYC Mis marks the clearance heights. I'm in Canada and they are all over here.

This is ridiculous. Maybe the DOT can install some sort of small overpass at the entrances to these parkways so this doesn't happen anymore.

Shit is mad scary... I've done it once driving a bus for Academy Buses. They tell you it's okay but just stay in the middle lane....HELL NAH!!! Sorry folks, I'm taking the long way.

i drive local in nyc and its true the signage in ny as far as hight is all under marked by a foot or more

The bridges are marked for the clearances at the lower parts, this makes sense to me to prevent tr

NYC highways are a bunch of clowns that miss mark the clearance for underpasses and bridges. We drove on the BQE in Brooklyn Heights where the clearance marked “12 - 9”. What an idiot that they put lousy clearance signs on highways. I wonder if Robert Moses comes out of his grave to see what is wrong of putting clearance errors.

I’ve seen MTA buses on the FDR South Bound by exit 5.

All the bridges in and near Buffalo NY are posted 1 foot less than actual height.