New Delhi: A broken-down truck parked on a busy road at night with no warning sign or with just a bunch of leaves or a few branches dangling from it is a common sight in Delhi-NCR. The stranded heavy vehicle is often the catalyst for a disaster waiting to happen to other motorists. This truth was reinforced when, last week, three people lost their lives when a car collided with a stationary dumper at Kapashera in southwest Delhi. In a similar accident in Aug, a man died after his SUV crashed with a stationary truck on Mathura Road near Sarita Vihar. In another case near Greater Noida’s Dadri, three men were killed when their vehicle collided with a parked truck. In March, a container truck driver lost his life after his vehicle crashed into a stationary truck on Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. In countries like the US, the UK and Australia, the enforcement of safety rules is strict and drivers are required to use reflectors, warning triangles and other signage to alert other road users to such a breakdown. According to experts, the absence of warning signs, which should be visible to other motorists from a good distance, makes the stranded vehicles almost invisible at night or in the middle of a fog, a common occurrence in north India during winter. The lack of awareness or disregard among drivers to follow safety protocols makes matters worse. According to police sources, heavy transport vehicles, whether moving or parked, have been responsible for 82 fatal accidents, resulting in 85 deaths and 187 injuries till Aug this year. Last year, there were 87 fatal crashes that caused 89 deaths and 205 injuries during the same period. Police usually file charges against the drivers or owners under sections 285 and 125 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for the obstruction of roads and for endangering the safetyof others, and under Section 106(1) in case a fatal accident happens. Rohit Baluja, president of Institute of Road Traffic Education, said when a vehicle breaks down and has to be parked on the road, its hazard lights or blinkers should immediately go on. Warning triangles should also be put out quickly. These simple steps can reduce the likelihood of accidents significantly, particularly at night or under low visibility, he pointed out. Additional commissioner of police (traffic) Dinesh Gupta said that in the case of such a breakdown, cranes are used. “If it’s a DTC bus, the department concerned is informed. Otherwise, cranes are called in to move the vehicle,” he said. Anil Chhikara, former deputy transport commissioner of Delhi, said heavy vehicles must have rear and side underrun protection devices so that smaller vehicles don’t slide underneath. This would protect cars, pedestrians and cyclists, as well as lessen the impact of such a collision. Chhikara pointed to something else too — the fraud fitness certificates that heavy vehicle owners get from private centres in other states. Stringent enforcement, he said, could lead to the revocation of over 95% of such certificates. “There is an urgent need to raise public awareness about 26 sub-laws related to no-parking and stationary vehicles, which categorise dangerous parking as a punishable offence,” said Baluja. “Many crashes occur simply because a vehicle is improperly parked, creating a sudden and unexpected obstruction.”
