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Danger on the road

Bending rules
Last Updated 26 November 2012, 21:07 IST

Danger on the road

 Riding or driving on the City roads has never been easy. And on such risky roads, vehicles carrying extra baggage create a nuisance.It’s common to observe two-wheelers and trucks carrying long pipes, rods and other such goods protruding out of the vehicle.

 On the already congested roads, carrying such items can really jeopardises others’ lives. Karthik, an IT professional, opines that goods — like rods and pipes — should be transported only in goods trucks. He says, “I have often noticed vehicles carrying these goods on the road. Once, when I was driving my car, there was a truck carrying pipes that was double its size — it came so close to me that it almost touched my windshield. Such items should be carried in goods trucks.

Other solutions to this problem could be to cover the sharp ends of tools with soft cladding. They should also warn others by displaying bright boards or carrying a warning lamp.”The risk factor is a lot more for people who ride two-wheelers.Aahlad, an engineering student, says, “I have come from Nagpur. Back there, people transporting these goods would tie them in red cloth to warn others on the road. But in Bangalore, this practice is not followed. In the area I live in — near 

Banaswadi — there are a lot of vehicles carrying such items. At night, there aren’t always streetlights and in such conditions, we are absolutely clueless about what the other vehicles are carrying.”Sandeep, a civil engineer, has devised a formula to rescue himself from such dangers.He says, “I have made it a point to never follow any vehicle that has items protruding out of it. I either remain on its left or right — but never behind it.

I think the police should bring in a system, wherein the vehicles carrying such items should be instructed to always be on one side of the road — never in the middle. There is an existing rule allowing heavy vehicles to travel only at night — the same rule should be implemented for these vehicles also.”

Additional commissioner of police (traffic), M A Saleem, says that action has been taken against such vehicles.He says, “We have already instructed drivers to carry a red flag above such vehicles, so that it warns the public in advance. But many of them still do not follow the rules. Over the last nine months, we have registered 1,76,266 cases against people who break this law. We also fine them a penalty of Rs 100. However, if the problem is repeated more than three times, we cancel their licence.”

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(Published 26 November 2012, 14:31 IST)

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