Re: Nuisance of trucks. Tail-lamps / brake lights don't work! Dear fellow Team-bhpians, when I wanted to share this information, came across this thread which already had discussed about this issue. So a rejoinder.
I saw this news in the news paper on 10th of May and was feeling sad for those 9 innocent lives lost for no mistake of theirs. The mini van they were travelling in, got a flat around 1.30 a.m. and had stopped to change the spare wheel when a coal laden truck came from behind and smashed it.
Usually these private mini vans have proper working tail lamps and brake lights with working hazard lights. But alas we do not know what went wrong for the truck driver to have hit it like this in the dead of the night. Maybe the driver dozed off.
In over 30 years of my driving experience, numerous times I have driven on highways at night and every time encountered this menace of trucks, buses, tractors with loaded trailers speeding ahead of me without any tail light, brake light, indicators, reflectors, number plate lights etc. When I over take them I find they have a minimum of 2/4 head lights all in the upper beam blinding the opposite traffic to the maximum.
When we approach such vehicles at night times at greater speed and when the opposite traffic blinds our eyes, at times even if the tail lamps are working we tend to miss its presence completely and if it is raining it is even more worse. When the tail lights of these vehicles don't work some at least have the reflectors which help us but only when we hit the high beam and we miss them at times in low beam. What with all the dirt and dark colored tarp covering the goods there is absolutely no clue for us to establish the presence of the vehicle in front of us until we come quite close to it.
If our speed is say around 80 kmph, we may safely tackle this problem, but if we tend to go above 100 kmph plus speed the risk of missing the vehicles in front increases. It becomes worse in two lane roads where there are no dividers or reflective markers. And often the vehicles in the opposite direction doesn't dip their beams even when requested multiple times.
Innocent lives are lost day in and day out across our country because of these trucks and vehicle owners who earn in lakhs every month but won't bother to spend few hundreds or thousands for the up keep of their tail lights, brake lights turn indicators, hazard / warning reflective stickers etc. Its high time the issue is tackled by the concerned authorities.
I suggest some NGO's / Rotary / Lions clubs to take this as a national project, approach the local authorities and create a pool of electricians and after stocking ample number of accessories must converge on all city entry and exit points near the toll gates and check all (commercial) vehicles for working of these tail lamps, break lights and turn indicators and if found not working, first charge a penalty of Rs.5000/- and then rectify them then and there with the help of these electricians and collect the appropriate charges and service charges from these drivers.
If not a simple rule like hefty penalty from a cut off date will be levied for trucks and other commercial vehicles found with faulty tail lamps, brake lights, turn indicators, reflective stickers etc. might work to some extent and after which the above scheme can be implemented.
Request the opinion of fellow members to permanently solve this menace from our roads and save precious lives. |