Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Spurt in road accidents at night

Thiruvananthapuram: Unseasonal rains have made night driving in the city more hazardous. According to the police, there has been a considerable increase in minor accidents at night. The accidents mostly involved two-wheelers.

A road user satisfaction survey by the Kerala Public Works Department found that parking of vehicles along the roadside was a major reason for accidents at night. Movement of cattle through roads, temporary blindness in drivers caused by the headlights of oncoming vehicles, drunk driving and sleepy motorists were some of the other accident-causing factors identified in the survey.

Overloaded cargo vehicles, speed-breakers and medians that are not highlighted with fluorescent paint or reflectors, ill-lit junctions and absence of road signs warning motorists of hazards ahead are also causing accidents, according to the police.

“Ideally, citizens not used to night time driving should take care to engage professional drivers for long trips. The driver should stop the vehicle if he feels sleepy on long hauls,” an official said.

Most of the accidents occur between midnight and 6 a.m. Socialising inside vehicles, consuming alcohol and engaging the music system are risky while driving, he said. .

Motorists should ensure that they dip the headlights of their vehicles when other vehicles approach from the opposite side. They should not overtake other vehicles at night, particularly if the driver is not sure what lies in front. When parking on roadsides at night, motorists should ensure that the park lights of his vehicle are switched on.

Absence of night safety devices such as cat’s eye reflectors and ill-lit junctions have also resulted in vehicle accidents.

Traffic experts point out that along many key stretches the aluminium reflectors placed in the middle of the road to demarcate the carriage ways have been buried under tar during the resurfacing of the road.

The lack of sufficient number of men forces the city police to scale down traffic enforcement after 8 p.m. After 9 p.m., one way violations are very rampant in the city. Large vehicles, including tourist buses, rarely observe the simple road safety measure of dipping their headlights for the benefit of motorists coming from the opposite side.

It is not uncommon among motorists to fit their vehicles with additional headlights and fog lamps to unnerve other road users at night. The police officers point out that night-time traffic safety devices such as reflectors, rear-lamps and brake lights are not in working condition in a large section of vehicles, particularly buses and lorries.

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