{"id":214371,"date":"2025-09-10T02:28:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T02:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/214371\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T02:28:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T02:28:09","slug":"truck-driver-cited-after-striking-houston-avenue-bridge-in-third-incident-in-5-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/214371\/","title":{"rendered":"Truck driver cited after striking Houston Avenue bridge in third incident in 5 days"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><strong>HOUSTON<\/strong> \u2013 A truck driver has been cited for operating without a Commercial Driver\u2019s License (CDL) after striking the Houston Avenue bridge overnight, causing a traffic backup on the Katy Freeway (I-10).<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">This is the third crash in just five days involving an oversized vehicle hauling a heavy load\u2014raising new concerns about driver awareness and infrastructure safety in the area.<\/p>\n<p>Truckers say bridge warning sign isn\u2019t enough<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) says a warning system is in place to prevent these kinds of accidents. A sign near the bridge blinks and lights up when it detects a vehicle over the legal height limit. However, some truck drivers argue the current setup isn\u2019t enough to prevent strikes\u2014especially at highway speeds and across multiple lanes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 kNAFkD cuqaEv article-text\">One of those drivers is Ronald Premock, a retired trucker who now runs a Deep South pilot car escort service for oversized loads. He says the warning sign doesn\u2019t activate early enough, especially for drivers in the left or middle lanes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cIf you\u2019re in the fast lane or the middle lane, that sign is off to the right. It\u2019s almost impossible because you\u2019re concentrating on traffic, because you\u2019ve got a high velocity traffic area,\u201d Premock said.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">He also warned that with the high number of trucks that travel I-10 through Houston daily, it\u2019s difficult for drivers to tell whether the blinking sign applies to them or another vehicle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cIt\u2019s a miracle no one\u2019s got killed there yet,\u201d Premock said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">He believes a more visible solution is needed\u2014one that captures drivers\u2019 attention well before they approach the low-clearance bridge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cI suggest a large overhead site temporarily until they get the overpass built. They need some sort of a warning,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Lack of permits compounding the problem<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">According to TxDOT, many of the truck drivers involved in these bridge strikes also do not have the proper permits to be hauling oversized loads on this route.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Premock says that\u2019s another major safety issue\u2014one that\u2019s hard to address without stopping every truck to verify permits.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">KPRC 2 has reached out to TxDOT to ask whether any changes are being considered to improve signage or enforcement. As of now, the agency has not responded.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 A truck driver has been cited for operating without a Commercial Driver\u2019s License (CDL) after striking&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":214372,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[117212,4345,117213,358,117211,85231,3187],"class_list":{"0":"post-214371","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-cdl","9":"tag-houston","10":"tag-houston-avenue-bridge","11":"tag-texas","12":"tag-truck-drivers","13":"tag-trucking","14":"tag-tx"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115177645864259961","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}