History Main / InstantConvertible

* Every year in Boston, the days around September 1 see intense moving activity, as a disproportionately large share of residential leases start on that date (no doubt connected to the freakin' huge number of students in the area). Every year, movers are warned not to take their moving trucks along Storrow Drive, a major thoroughfare in the area that often shows up on GPS as the quickest route from Point A to Point B... but also features an ungodly number of low overpasses that result in this very trope. Every year, the city and local universities remind movers not to take trucks on Storrow Drive. Every year, several movers don't listen. And [[https://www.boston.com/news/commute/2018/08/29/how-not-to-get-storrowed-a-quick-guide they get Storrowed]].

* There's a story of people trying to get out of East German through the border check at Berlin Wall by modifying their car's roof to pop off, invoking the trope. They simply drive straight at the low clearance checkpoint bar, straight through to the other side. Afterwards, the path was made zigzagging to prevent similar attempts.

* In ''Film/SmokeyAndTheBandit'', Sheriff Buford T. Justice has this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-pHuT2666s happen to him]] when he can't avoid a truck carrying a concrete I-beam. He continues to drive the roofless police cruiser at high speed across several states for the rest of the movie.

* Defied in VideoGame/BeamNG, as the physics engine doesn't distinguish between roof and body stiffness.

[[folder:Video Gamess]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]

[[folder:Films -- Live Action]]

* Happens to Cruella DeVil's car at the end of ''Disney/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians'', while she is chasing the moving van the titular dogs were travelling in.
** Her car was ''already'' a convertible, though the top was up at the time.

* The Norfolk Southern–Gregson Street Overpass in Durham, North Carolina. This is a railroad bridge you're more likely to know of by its alternate nickname, the [[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=gregson+street&hl=en&ll=35.999059,-78.909899&spn=0.000931,0.002064&sll=35.98773,-78.891106&sspn=0.118619,0.264187&t=h&hnear=N+Gregson+St,+Durham,+North+Carolina+27701&z=20 11 foot 8 Bridge]], owing to its low vertical clearance of 11 feet 8 inches (3.56 m) It cannot be raised, because nearby grade crossings would also have to be raised, and the street cannot be lowered, because a major sewer line runs right under the street. [[FailedASpotCheck Despite numerous big yellow warning signs and warning lights]], there's always at least one overheight truck per month that ends up getting its roof sheared off in spectacular fashion. Jürgen Henn, who runs a nearby office, mounted two video cameras to record the crashes and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzkWTcDZFH0 post every]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2QW9CiHpZA instance of this]] to YouTube. The frequency of overheight trucks trying to go under the bridge much so that the locals have nicknamed it the "Can Opener Bridge" and gained it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS7WYn0qxzM international attention]]. There is even [[http://11foot8.com/ a website]] dedicated to hosting the videos of these crashes, [[InstantHumiliationJustAddYouTube guaranteeing that these unlucky drivers will never forget]].

* The Norfolk Southern–Gregson Street Overpass in Durham, North Carolina. This is a railroad bridge you're more likely to know of by its alternate nickname, the [[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=gregson+street&hl=en&ll=35.999059,-78.909899&spn=0.000931,0.002064&sll=35.98773,-78.891106&sspn=0.118619,0.264187&t=h&hnear=N+Gregson+St,+Durham,+North+Carolina+27701&z=20 11 foot 8 Bridge]], owing to its low vertical clearance of 11 feet 8 inches (3.56 m) It cannot be raised, because nearby grade crossings would also have to be raised, and the street cannot be lowered, because a major sewer line runs right under the street. [[FailedASpotCheck Despite numerous big yellow warning signs and warning lights]], there's always at least one overheight truck per month that ends up getting its roof sheared off in spectacular fashion. Jürgen Henn, who runs a nearby office, mounted two video cameras to record the crashes and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzkWTcDZFH0 post every]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2QW9CiHpZA instance of this]] to YouTube. The frequency of overheight trucks trying to go under the bridge much so that the locals have nicknamed it the "Can Opener Bridge". There is even [[http://11foot8.com/ a website]] dedicated to hosting the videos of these crashes, [[InstantHumiliationJustAddYouTube guaranteeing that these unlucky drivers will never forget]].

* The Norfolk Southern–Gregson Street Overpass in Durham, North Carolina. This is a railroad bridge you're more likely to know of by its alternate nickname, the [[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=gregson+street&hl=en&ll=35.999059,-78.909899&spn=0.000931,0.002064&sll=35.98773,-78.891106&sspn=0.118619,0.264187&t=h&hnear=N+Gregson+St,+Durham,+North+Carolina+27701&z=20 11 foot 8 Bridge]], owing to its low vertical clearance of 11 feet 8 inches (3.56 m) It cannot be raised, because nearby grade crossings would also have to be raised, and the street cannot be lowered, because a major sewer line runs right under the street. [[FailedASpotCheck Despite numerous big yellow warning signs and warning lights]], there's always at least one overheight truck per month that ends up getting its roof sheared off in spectacular fashion. Jürgen Henn, who runs a nearby office, mounted two video cameras to record the crashes and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzkWTcDZFH0 post every instance of this]] to YouTube. The frequency of overheight trucks trying to go under the bridge much so that the locals have nicknamed it the "Can Opener Bridge". There is even [[http://11foot8.com/ a website]] dedicated to hosting the videos of these crashes, [[InstantHumiliationJustAddYouTube guaranteeing that these unlucky drivers will never forget]].

* The Norfolk Southern–Gregson Street Overpass in Durham, North Carolina. This is a railroad bridge you're more likely to know of by its alternate nickname, the [[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=gregson+street&hl=en&ll=35.999059,-78.909899&spn=0.000931,0.002064&sll=35.98773,-78.891106&sspn=0.118619,0.264187&t=h&hnear=N+Gregson+St,+Durham,+North+Carolina+27701&z=20 11 foot 8 Bridge]], owing to its low vertical clearance. Drivers of large vehicles [[EpicFail frequently]] [[FailedASpotCheck fail to take heed of the big yellow warning signs and the warning lights triggered by their overheight vehicles]], and the roofs get sheared off in spectacular fashion. If that wasn't humiliating enough, there are two cameras at this intersection to capture [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzkWTcDZFH0 every instance of this]] and post it to YouTube. This happens twelve to sixteen times a year, so much so that the locals have nicknamed it the "Can Opener Bridge". There is even [[http://11foot8.com/ a website]] dedicated to the videos of these crashes.
* While a teenager, future actor Richard Harris was delivering a massive haulage truck to Dublin. Being somewhat drunk, he tried to drive under a low bridge in the belief that he could get through [[InsaneTrollLogic if he drove quickly enough]]. He then unsuccessfully tried to convince a policeman that the [[BlatantLies bridge was on the back of his truck because he was delivering it to Limerick]].

* The Norfolk Southern–Gregson Street Overpass in Durham, North Carolina. A railroad bridge you more likely know of by its alternate nickname, the [[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=gregson+street&hl=en&ll=35.999059,-78.909899&spn=0.000931,0.002064&sll=35.98773,-78.891106&sspn=0.118619,0.264187&t=h&hnear=N+Gregson+St,+Durham,+North+Carolina+27701&z=20 11 foot 8 Bridge]], owing to its low vertical clearance. Drivers of large vehicles [[EpicFail frequently]] [[FailedAspotCheck fail to take heed of the big yellow warning signs and the warning lights triggered by their overheight vehicles]], and the roofs get sheared off in spectacular fashion. If that wasn't humiliating enough, there are two cameras at this intersection to capture [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzkWTcDZFH0 every instance of this]] and post it to YouTube. This happens twelve to sixteen times a year, so much so that the locals have nicknamed it the "Can Opener Bridge". There is even [[http://11foot8.com/ a website]] dedicated to the videos of these crashes.

* There is a bridge in the United States called the [[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=gregson+street&hl=en&ll=35.999059,-78.909899&spn=0.000931,0.002064&sll=35.98773,-78.891106&sspn=0.118619,0.264187&t=h&hnear=N+Gregson+St,+Durham,+North+Carolina+27701&z=20 11 foot 8 Bridge]], a railroad bridge with low vertical clearance. Drivers of large vehicles frequently fail to take heed of the big yellow warning signs and the warning lights triggered by their overheight vehicles, and the roofs get sheared off in spectacular fashion. Two cameras at this intersection capture [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzkWTcDZFH0 every instance of this]] to YouTube. This happens twelve to sixteen times a year, so much so that the locals have nicknamed it the "Can Opener Bridge". There is even [[http://11foot8.com/ a website]] dedicated to the videos of these crashes.

** ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'' does this with a hearse, badly damaging the terminator trying to cut though the roof in the process.

* In ''Film/{{Smokey and the Bandit}}'', Sheriff Buford T. Justice has this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-pHuT2666s happen to him]] when he can't avoid a truck carrying a concrete I-beam. He continues to drive the roofless police cruiser at high speed across several states for the rest of the movie.

* The Mythbusters clip mentioned above begins with footage from the {{CHiPs}} episode "MAIT Team".
* This happens in the MiamiVice episode "Stone's War" to a car driven by the CIA which is chasing Crockett and Stone.

* The Mythbusters clip mentioned above begins with footage from {{CHiPs}}.

** 007 shears the top off a doubledecker bus by going under a low bridge in ''Film/{{Live and Let Die}}''.
** This is one of many mishaps that happens to Bond's Renault in ''Film/{{A View to a Kill}}''.

* In ''Film/TheToxicAvenger Part 2'', during the final chase scene Toxi's cab driver is unable to avoid this fate. After a moment of silence, everyone in the cab freaks out and when the driver starts ranting about how his cab's been ruined, Toxi tells him to chill out 'cause he now has a convertible and hands him a pair of sunglasses (and he does!). Oddly enough, the little Jesus statue in the back is unharmed.

** ''Terminator2JudgmentDay'': When the T-1000, driving a semi, crashes into a demolished bridge, destroying the roof of the truck, the T-1000, being made of liquid metal, is able to reconstruct itself and continue the chase.

* Happens to the Opel Admiral driven by a henchman during the chase scene in ''The Master Touch''.

* In ''Film/{{Smokey and the Bandit}}'', Sheriff Buford T. Justice has this happen to him when he can't avoid a truck carrying a concrete I-beam. He continues to drive the roofless police cruiser at high speed across several states for the rest of the movie.

* There is a bridge in the United States called the [[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=gregson+street&hl=en&ll=35.999059,-78.909899&spn=0.000931,0.002064&sll=35.98773,-78.891106&sspn=0.118619,0.264187&t=h&hnear=N+Gregson+St,+Durham,+North+Carolina+27701&z=20 11 foot 8 Bridge]], a railroad bridge with low vertical clearance. Drivers of large vehicles frequently fail to take heed of the big yellow warning signs and the warning lights triggered by their overheight vehicles, and the roofs get sheared off in spectacular fashion. Two cameras at this intersection capture every instance of this to YouTube. This happens twelve to sixteen times a year, so much so that the locals have nicknamed it the "Can Opener Bridge". There is even [[http://11foot8.com/ a website]] dedicated to the videos of these crashes.