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Truck Route Restrictions and Safety: Bridges, Weight Limits, Hazmat and Permits

Most routing problems for trucks come from a short list of restrictions: low bridges and overpasses, weight-limited roads and bridges, length limits and truck-prohibited streets. Hazmat and oversize loads add their own rules on top.

Start with the overview of restriction types, then the guide to avoiding low bridge strikes, which is the most common and most expensive mistake. Fleets that haul placarded loads or permit loads should read the hazmat and oversize guides: in both cases the navigation app is a planning aid, not the final word, and the carrier stays responsible for following the current rules and the permit route.

Guides in this topic

1. Truck route restrictions: bridges, weight and hazmat

   The restriction types that cause detours, fines and strikes.

2. How to avoid low bridge strikes

   Measured heights, truck-safe routing and a few driver rules that close the usual gaps.

3. Hazmat routing for small fleets

   Restricted routes, tunnels, written route plans and where navigation software fits.

4. Permit and oversize load routing: what changes

   Why standard truck-safe routing isn't enough for oversize and permit loads.

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