https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7klO0p092Y
Ah, there's just something about destruction like this that is so oddly satisfying. There's been tons of videos circulating the web of box truck drivers that didn't take note of a low-clearance bridge. The truck either gets jammed underneath the bridge, or it comes out the other side as a flatbed. Well, The Slow Mo Guys on YouTube decided that this whole situation would make for an amazing slow motion shot, and they weren't wrong.
They construct their "bridge" out of some storage containers, and although it's not the standard height you'd normally see on public roadways, it's set up at a height that is guaranteed to make contact with these cargo trucks. They also bring in two different box trucks so they can get plenty of shots with multiple attempts. A professional stunt driver is used, and, to assure the driver's safety, he has full safety gear, including a helmet, neck protection, and a five-point harness.
The stunt driver originally claims he's going to be doing around 30-35 MPH for the shots, but judging by the video, I'm guessing he's doing at least 45 mph by the point of impact. I think he was trying to be sure that he'd make it out the other side, as opposed to coming to a complete stop instantly under the bridge. During the first attempt, it goes about as smooth as they hoped and causes some serious carnage. But, when they reviewed the slow motion footage, that's when we get to witness the real show.
Watching the roof peel off of this box truck at slower speeds makes this hard metal appear as if it was a sheet of paper. As it makes contact with the containers, it completely folds up like an accordion. The two metal braces running down the corners of the roof both pierce through the container and make it out the other side. As for the sheet metal, that tore completely off, crumpled up, and ended up on the ground right under the bridge. In the slow shots, you can see the ripple effect at the beginning of the impact going through the entire box of the truck. They definitely nailed the camera angles for this.
On the second attempt, things went a little differently. They used an insulated box truck instead of the standard box, and it just completely explodes at the point of impact. The second truck also makes it all the way through to the other side of the bridge, but leaves much more debris on the ground. The top obviously gets taken off, but it was far different from the way the first truck peeled the top off. Rather than crumpling up and tearing off, the box on this truck shatters into tons of pieces. The slow motion shots of this attempt were absolutely incredible. What's even greater is that the support beams that run down the top corners of the box went through the same exact holes that were left from the first one.
Safe to say, these guys were left with lots to clean up after this destruction. I must admit, these attempts went about as good as they could've gone. The shots that they managed to capture were absolutely mind blowing, and it proved to be a good reminder that everything is so much cooler in slow motion.
Being able to actually break down what was going on was completely different from watching the crashes at full speed. If this type of content intrigues you, I'd definitely recommend checking The Slo Mo Guys channel out for some more epic videos.