ODOT participates in national ‘Check Your Height, Know It’s Right’ campaign

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation announced its participation in a public awareness campaign aimed at helping drivers avoid striking bridges with their vehicles.

“Check Your Height, Know It’s Right” encourages people to check that their vehicle and load is not too tall to safely fit under bridges that extend over roadways. These overhead collisions, commonly known as bridge strikes, not only put the public and emergency responders at risk, but they also damage vehicles and infrastructure and cause traffic delays.

“Drivers often rely on noncommercial mobile GPS mapping tools to choose their routes and to provide directions. But those GPS tools are not designed to be used with non-passenger vehicles, including rented box trucks, RVs and especially oversize commercial vehicles, and do not flag potential low bridges,” said Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation and ODOT Executive Director Tim Gatz.

In Oklahoma, commercial trucks under 14 feet can legally travel state highways and interstates with a permit and approved route.

Drivers are responsible for knowing the height of their vehicle and being observant of and complying with posted bridge heights. Drivers should always watch for and adhere first to signage indicating bridge heights and not rely solely on navigation devices or apps. Oklahoma size and weight permits are available on the ODOT Size and Weight Permits website.

The “Check Your Height, Know It’s Right” campaign targets all classes of drivers operating commercial trucks, leased trucks such as delivery and moving box-type trucks, recreational vehicles or travel trailers, construction vehicles and certain livestock transport trailers.

Crash data shows that drivers may not always consider vehicle height and related restrictions during operation. For example, a typical 26-foot moving truck may have a height ranging from 11 feet to nearly 14 feet or more.

ODOT, along with a number of state transportation agencies, is adopting the “Check Your Height, Know It’s Right” campaign with the support of The Eastern Transportation Coalition, a partnership of 19 states and D.C. focused on connecting public agencies across modes of travel to increase safety and efficiency. This initiative builds on TETC’s 2025 corridor-wide campaign that has served as the vanguard for this multi-state collaborative work.