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ClearHeight

Stop bridge strikes before they happen.

ClearHeight turns the traffic cameras you already have into overheight vehicle detectors. It measures every approaching vehicle against the clearance ahead and warns the driver and your operations team in time to stop.

Request a demoWhy overheight detection matters
4′9″5′11″14′8″14′8″ · OVERHEIGHTWhite box truck · plate HJK·48214′9″5′11″13′6″ALERT SENTLOW CLEARANCE13′6″ AHEADWHITE BOX TRUCKPLATE HJK·4821OVERHEIGHTEXIT 23 NOW

Low clearances get hit, again and again

Bridge strikes each year by overheight trucks in New York State (CCNY for U.S. DOT)
~200
Bridge strikes recorded in New York between 2015 and 2020 (NYS Thruway Authority)
1,100+
Vehicle–bridge collisions a year nationally, 2013–2018 (FHWA)
13,000+
Times one bridge, King Street in Rye Brook, NY, was struck in a decade (U.S. DOT)
100+

How it works

Every vehicle measured before it reaches the bridge

ClearHeight watches a calibrated stretch of road upstream of a low-clearance structure. As each vehicle crosses it, Vision AI finds the vehicle’s highest point and converts it from pixels to a real-world height.

When a vehicle measures taller than the clearance ahead, ClearHeight raises the alert while there is still room to act: a message sign tells the driver to exit, and your operations team is notified at the same moment.

  • Works on existing roadside and traffic cameras, not new sensor arrays
  • Each camera is calibrated with targets of known size, such as checkerboard signs and marked range poles
  • Corrects for distance and perspective, so a vehicle is measured accurately wherever it is in the lane
  • Alerts go to message signs, traffic signals, control centers, or by text and email

In the field

Deployed with the New York State Thruway Authority

ClearObject partnered with the New York State Thruway Authority to deploy ClearHeight at select structures, running on video from cameras already monitoring the roadway.

Each camera’s field of view, horizon and perspective were calibrated so pixel measurements map to real heights. Threshold zones evaluate approaching vehicles in real time, and every event is logged to a central dashboard for incident tracking and trend analysis.

Read the full story

Built for the way agencies operate

  1. 01

    Uses the cameras you have

    ClearHeight is a software layer on existing video, so cost is mostly per-site calibration and setup rather than new hardware.

  2. 02

    Calibrated per camera

    Intrinsic and extrinsic calibration relates a vehicle’s top edge in the image to its true height at any distance.

  3. 03

    Thresholds per lane

    Structures with sloped or uneven clearance get their own limits by lane or segment.

  4. 04

    Alerts where they matter

    Dynamic message signs, signal or gate control, traffic management centers, and text or email to the operations team.

  5. 05

    Every event on record

    Detections are logged with context for review, with dashboards for trends, false-alarm rates and hot spots.

  6. 06

    Improves over time

    Confirmed events and operator feedback refine detection and thresholds without retraining from scratch.

Where it applies

Anywhere a vehicle can be too tall

Bridges and overpasses are the most common target, but the same camera-based measurement protects any low-clearance structure.

  • Bridges, overpasses and rail crossings on minor roads
  • Tunnel approaches and parking garages
  • Pedestrian bridges and footbridges
  • Canopies and covered walkways at airports and campuses
  • Temporary work zones with cranes or scaffolding over the roadway

ClearHeight questions

Do we need new cameras?

Usually not. ClearHeight runs on video from cameras already watching the roadway. Each site needs a camera view of the approach and a one-time calibration.

How is a camera calibrated?

Targets of known size, such as checkerboard signs and marked range poles, are placed in view. ClearHeight uses them to map pixels to real-world distances and heights for that camera.

What happens when an overheight vehicle is detected?

ClearHeight can post a warning to a dynamic message sign, trigger signals or gates, notify a traffic management center, and send text or email alerts, all at once. Every event is logged with video for review.

What about structures with uneven clearance?

Thresholds can be set per lane or per segment, so sloped or arched structures are measured against the right limit.

See ClearHeight on your cameras.

Talk to the ClearObject team about protecting a low-clearance structure.

Request a demo