On the morning of December 30, 1952, an unusual mechanical failure occurred on London’s Tower Bridge. As a red No. 78 double-decker bus approached the central span, the bascule section of the bridge began to rise earlier than scheduled. The timing error happened while the bus was still on the movable roadway, creating an immediate hazard for everyone onboard.
The bus was driven by Albert Gunter, who had been operating the route routinely. When he felt the bridge deck lifting beneath the vehicle, Gunter realized that braking would cause the bus to slip backward toward the opening gap.
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