Overloaded quarry-bound trucks pose a threat to road users

Overloaded trucks from granite quarries pose safety threats on highways, despite efforts to track violations by checking squads.

Overloaded trucks from granite quarries have emerged as a safety threat again for road users on State and national highways, despite claims by various checking squads that efforts are on to track such violations. Flying debris from the unsecured loads often become life-threatening experience for motorists and pedesrtians, whose complaints have been thrown to the wind.

“In the absence of any approved weighing system, the 15-tonne trucks are usually loaded with quarry products weighing above 30 tonnes. Such overloaded trucks are causing huge damage to village roads,” says V.J. Jose, a resident of Mukkom.

Complaints citing the speed limit violations of the overloaded vehicles have also surfaced seeking immediate action on the part of the authorities. The maximum permitted speed of 60 km per hour is hardly kept by large-scale operators in the field. A few other operators are least bothered by the hefty fines slapped by the checking squads.

“Two days ago, a big piece of granite stone fell on the road from an overloaded truck at Koombara. The incident took place in an area where people used to wait for boarding buses,” says T. Rafeek, a local taxi operator.

The demand of people’s actions committees, working against uncontrolled quarrying in the district, to introduce weighing machines under government control to screen overloaded vehicles is yet to be considered, though there have been promises from people’s representatives and local body administrators. The action committee leaders allege that there are efforts on the part of the truck and quarry operators to prevent such a system.

Meanwhile, officers with the Motor Vehicles department’s enforcement wing say they have already suspended the driving licence of several illegal operators to ensure public safety. While rejecting the allegations over “poor legal actions”, they add the records of around 300 drivers, who were caught for grave violations are available for endorsing the same.