The Hindu : A night drive to hell

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 01, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram

A night drive to hell

Night-driving is proving to be a dangerous proposition as traffic violations occur the maximum during this period, writes G. ANAND

THE TREND among motorists to equip their vehicles with high- power halogen headlights that deliver a blue-tinted blinding beam, is a major cause of accidents at night in the city.

Tourist buses, taxis, trucks and vans carrying perishable goods are the worst violators in this category. The fact that there is no adequate night-time lighting at crucial junctions such as Sreekariyam, Pappanamcode, Pattom, Injackal and Overbridge, adds to the problem.

The speed-breakers (bumps) at various points in the city are not striped with white paint and turn into death traps for two-wheeler riders and motorists at night. The aluminium reflectors placed on urban roads to demarcate the carriageways have long been buried under tar or are missing.

There is very little traffic enforcement at night in the city and one-way violations are rampant after 9 p.m. Large vehicles entering the city rarely observe the simple road safety measure of dipping their headlights for an oncoming vehicle. Autorickshaw and taxi drivers switch on powerful fog lamps to unnerve other road users.

The movement of large herds of slaughter animals into the city through the Pappanamcode-Karamana corridor at night has led to several accidents along this stretch. Lorries overloaded with hay and other perishable items move through this stretch at breakneck speeds.

``Overloaded lorries toppling over while braking hard or executing sharp manoeuvres to avoid collision is a common occurrence at night along the Nemom-Pappanamcode stretch'', a Motor Vehicle department official said.

A reliable source alleged that there was a corrupt nexus between some senior Traffic officials and the representatives of lorry owners who operate cargo services between Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Representatives of the lorry operators reportedly give a hefty monthly sum to the traffic officials so that overloaded lorries are allowed to pass through the city unchallenged at night. Traffic enforcement along Nemom-Karamana stretch as well as Kesavadasapuran and Ulloor have allegedly been diluted as a result of this.

Sources alleged that a similar corrupt nexus also existed between a section of Traffic officials and private bus owners in the city. Mini-van and jeep owners who operate illegal parallel services also pay a fixed amount monthly to corrupt elements in the Traffic police, they alleged.

This has resulted in night-time police enforcement being reduced to checking documents of private vehicles, one alleged. Several big textile showrooms and cinema theatres which have no designated parking area keep some Traffic officials on their monthly pay-roll in return for posting traffic constables in front of their showrooms to handle the parking and movement of vehicles of customers.

Police figures show that as many as 38,361 accidents were reported in the State between April 2001 and March 2002 in the State. Out of this 9,296 accidents, nearly one-third, occurred during night-time.

When contacted, the director, National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC), T. Elangovan, pointed out that most of the medians, traffic islands and speed breakers have no night-time safety devices such as cat's eye reflectors.

Slow-moving vehicles such as bicycles and bullock carts should be given fluorescent paint to enhance their visibility at night, he said.

Mr. Elangovan said several accidents at night were because vehicles did not have one of the headlights working, functional tail lamp and rear reflectors. It was also imperative to ensure proper lighting at key junctions.

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