Vehicles which get stuck under low bridges are most commonly lorries. So it’s tempting for drivers of hire vans to think they don’t need to bother about this risk.

However, as a Bristol driver found out last week, low bridges pose a real risk to van drivers too. As you can see in the video footage above, this luton van got stuck under a low bridge in the Brislington area of Bristol.

The bridge in question was labelled with an 11′ height restriction. That’s about 3.3m.

Although this is high enough for most vans to pass under safely, some large box vans such as the Luton model shown in the video do exceed this height.

What to do: If you hire a van with a high roof, it should have a height sticker in the cab area. If it doesn’t, ask the hire company how high the van is — or measure it yourself.

If you get stuck under a low bridge or suffer any other height-related damage, you will usually be liable for the cost of the resulting damage. So it’s worth taking care to avoid a hefty repair bill.