Truck stuck under bridge in Baoshan

If you've been still wondering how the woman who rammed her bike into the bus actually managed to do it, this one takes the cake! Today's Shanghai Daily tells us of a truck that got stuck under a bridge while trying to force its way through on Songxing Road in Baoshan District yesterday at 7pm. In fact:

Police said the driver knew the crane bases on his truck were taller than the bridge, but he still decided to "try his luck." Once the truck got stuck, the driver sped up to force his way out instead of backing out, police said.

Shanghaiist has insider news that a group of researchers that have spent the last five years trying to prove a correlation between the intelligence level of drivers and the size of their vehicles have all committed harakiri on hearing of yesterday's accident. There are also rumours that the transport authority will soon introduce IQ tests for all would-be drivers.

Back at the accident scene, it was not until 11pm that the truck was finally pulled out. The fire department had to cut off the steel bases and remove air from the truck's tyres to get it out.

Bridge specialists have also determined that the truck moved the section of the bridge for bicycles by about 10 cm, and a 50-cm long crack could be seen on one of the bridge's concrete piers. Would someone please remind us never to travel in that part of town because just yesterday, a bridge also collapsed in Hunan, killing 20 people? Prior to this, we thought defective bridges only existed in certain parts of the world.

Wait, there's more. Shanghai Daily says residents in the neighbourhood have said that this is "not the first time trucks carrying goods higher than the limit has rushed through the underpass". Responding with a classic tai-chi move called "push-the-blame-asana", drivers complained to traffic police that "signs indicating height restrictions for the bridge were in the wrong places, including one under the bridge".

Related links
Shanghaiist: Woman rams bike into bus
Shanghai Daily: Truck tries to force way under bridge, gets stuck
China Daily: Central China bridge collapse kills 20, 46 missing

Photo from Shanghai Daily.