Ujjain : Apart from school buses not adhering to the road safety norms, overloaded auto-rickshaws, illegally plying tractor-trailers and underage driving are also putting the precious lives of residents, especially the students, at risk.
Fatal accidents due to the illegal plying of tractor-trailers for commercial purposes and underage driving are occurring every now and then. Hundreds of lives are snuffed on the Agar Road and other roads leading to villages from the city, where these speeding tractors and loading vehicles, speed with rash driving. A number of tractor-trailers loaded with sand, soil, gravel and other material continue to illegally ply in busy areas, including Dewas Road, Indore Road, Agar Road, Freeganj, Nai Sadak, Dualatganj and other prominent roads.
These tractor-trailers continue to move on roads carrying all sorts of goods despite the ruling of the High Court. The court had ruled years ago that the tractor-trailers will not be used for commercial purposes and their use will be restricted to agricultural purposes only. While no exact figure about the accidents caused by the trailers is available, rough estimates by traffic official indicate that over half of the total accidents are caused by them. Similarly, a number of minor school-children are seen driving two-wheelers and overloaded auto-rickshaws ferrying school students moving on various roads.
Meanwhile, Deputy-Transport Commissioner HK Mudgal said, their department keeps taking strict action against tractor-trailers used for commercial purposes. “We are regularly penalising the defaulters. The traffic police also keep penalising such illegally plying tractor-trailers. Tractor-trailers are registered with the transport department for agricultural purposes only. If any person wants to use a tractor-trailer for commercial purpose, he requires a permit for it. Special modifications, including installing hydraulic brake system, are done before the issuance of permit by the RTO for its use for commercial purposes. Usually no tractor-trailer owner applies for getting permit for using it for commercial purposes as its fees is very high,” Mudgal explained.
Dangerous transportation habits go unchecked
Unsafe transportation of construction materials such as bricks and iron rods on trucks are proving to be a cause for concern to fellow motorists. Iron rods are carelessly loaded on to the trucks and they protrude both in the front over the cabin as well as in the rear. Normally, when such materials are transported, the standing rule is that the operator should ensure safe transportation by putting up red lights/reflectors during night. A big red cloth/flag should be tied to caution the motorists. Unfortunately, these norms are seldom followed. Most of the truck operators tie a small red cloth, which may not at all be visible. Transport department officials said that the Motor Vehicle Rules had provisions for prosecuting those undertaking such unsafe transportation methods. Iron rods should not protrude beyond 100 cm of the vehicle length. Tying up of red flags or reflectors/lights is not obligatory. According to Deputy-Transport Commissioner HK Mudgal, enforcement officers had been asked to focus on such unsafe transportation practices. Similarly, trucks carrying bricks too endanger the safety of motorists, as dust particles fly from the trucks affecting the eyes of two-wheeler riders. Repeated attempts by the police and revenue authorities to ensure that such loads are covered with tarpaulin or plastic sheets have failed.
