In recent years, comprehensive research dealing with the triggers of wood-clogging mechanisms at bridges and the corresponding impacts on flood risk was accomplished at the University of Innsbruck. A large set of laboratory experiments in a rectangular flume was conducted. In this paper we provide an overall view of these tests and present our findings. By applying a logistic regression analysis, the available knowledge on the influence of geometrical, hydraulic, and wood-related parameters on LW clogging probabilities is processed in a generalized form. Based on the experimental modeling results a practice-oriented guideline that supports the assessment of flood risk induced by LW clogging, is presented. In this context, two specific local structural protection measures at the bridge, aiming for a significant decrease of the entrapment probabilities, are illustrated: (i) a deflecting baffle installed on the upstream face of the bridge and (ii) a channel constriction leading to a change in flow state and a corresponding increase of the flow velocities and the freeboard at the bridge cross section. The presented guideline is based on a three-step approach: estimation of LW potential, entrainment, and transport; clogging scenario at the bridge; and the impact on channel and floodplain hydraulics. For a specific bridge susceptible to potential clogging caused by LW entrapment, it allows for a qualitative evaluation of potential LW entrainment in the upstream river segments, its transport toward the hydraulic bottleneck, and for a quantification of expected entrapment probabilities. Depending on the amount and characteristics of the impacting LW, consequences of bridge clogging can be determined and LW bridge-clogging scenarios can be considered within hydrodynamic numerical modeling. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.