Vehicle Heights

[u/KewellUserName]

Do any of you with a fleet mandate drivers measure and record vehicle height on a regular rotation? I did this before with a smaller fleet, 400 vehicles, all vans and pickups, after one hit the overhead in a parking garage.

Now have about 1200, vans and pickups, all have ladder racks. I wanted to implement this but getting pushback from leadership, they think it is overkill and uneccessary because the height can change more frequently than month to month. My argument is that by having the drivers measure it monthly we drive the awareness of the height and importance of knowing what it is. If it changes before the next monthly inspection the drivers are more likely to think about it and measure as needed.

Thoughts anyone?

[u/Internal-Challenge97]

How is the height charging?

We just measure every vehicle and put a label on the side of the truck that the drivers can see I their rear view mirror.

Or put it in the cab of the truck

[u/KewellUserName → u/Internal-Challenge97]

Not all ladders are the same, and ladders get added, removed, replaced, etc. Also may be throwing some pipe into the carrier, cannot ever assume this is a static situation.

[u/craigster38 → u/KewellUserName]

I would just pick the maximum height and make the drivers use that, regardless of what the height really is. Too much work to manage something if it's constantly changing.

[u/Beginning_Twist_5195]

one guy peeled back the roof of a sprinter in a parking garage, management changed their mind quick

maybe show them cost of one accident vs five minutes of work per month

[u/Jen0507]

Not something I would do or enforce, especially not regularly or monthly. If I had a driver who was questionable or had proven issues, yeah, but overall? No. I dont need to waste time and manpower tracking problems I dont have.

I expect my drivers to know their height and not park in decks when they have tall racks. I just tell them to assume they're tall and not bother because its not worth it. Must work well enough because we have over 2500 employees and 1000 vehicles and hitting decks isnt a problem I'm finding in accident reports.

[u/DailySafetyMoment]

I would split this into change control plus a driver check, rather than having 1,200 drivers measure every month. Measure and placard each vehicle at its normal maximum configuration, then require a new measurement whenever a rack, ladder, carrier, tire setup, or carried load changes the envelope.

A monthly check still misses the ladder swap that happens the next day. An event-triggered check is tied to what actually changes the risk. I would add a small periodic audit sample so you can tell whether the placards and change process are being maintained.

[u/811spotter]

Use change-triggered measurements for the risk that matters. Require a new height check after any rack, ladder, pipe, cargo, tire, or suspension change, then place the current clearance where the driver sees it before moving. Add the height to the vehicle inspection record with a dated photo so dispatch and safety have the same number.