Working group forms post bridge collapse

A working group, comprised of twenty representatives from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), SCRA, the National Pilot Car Association (NPCA) and the North American Pilot Vehicle Safety Alliance (NAPVSA), was formed to develop recommendations rising from both the NTSB investigation after the Skagit River Bridge collapse, and other advocacy issues related to industry. The group examined bridge hits; OS/OW load transportation and pilot escort vehicle operations; and inspection of OS/OW loads. Some of the recommendations include:

• Support for Pilot Escort Vehicle Operator certification. States which do not currently require PEVO certification should take the requirement under consideration;
• Establish a national centralized database to record bridge hit incidents related to vertical clearance;
• Given the increasing volume and size of current OS/OW loads, it is recommended that standards established in the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices be expanded to include the marking of vertical clearance on all bridges that have less than 20’ of clearance; and
• Establish a national centralized database of certified pilot escort drivers accessible by law enforcement.

Additional details on the recommendations can be found here.