Heavy vehicle speeding kills

Heavy vehicles should keep to their speed limit. — AZMAN GHANI/The Star

Accidents involving heavy vehicles continue to take their toll on lives on our roads and highways.

Poor-quality tyres, overloaded weights, and driver burnout have been highlighted and checked to reduce heavy vehicle accidents. Though these are significant contributory factors, they do not address the most common cause.

Speeding! It is the number one cause of heavy vehicle accidents on our roads and highways.

Heavy vehicles speed beyond the stipulated speed limit, either 80 or 90 km/h, and it is clearly and boldly displayed at the rear of the vehicles.

Yet many heavy vehicles drive at breakneck speed beyond the 80 or 90 km/h speed limit. Some even drive beyond 110 kph, tailgating and overtaking cars in the speed lane.

I have seen this numerous times driving to Johor on the PLUS highway: heavy vehicles speeding and overtaking other heavy vehicles in the fast lane. Buses, container lorries, petrol tankers, and car carrier trucks randomly speed in the fast lane.

On the PLUS highway, there are signboards at various stretches where heavy vehicles cannot overtake each other.

But, being bigger and huge, these heavy vehicles are oblivious to the signs and overtake without a care or thought.

Reports of heavy vehicles speeding and veering onto other vehicles or losing control of their cars have always been the case in heavy vehicle accidents.

However, heavy vehicles ploughing into oncoming vehicles and causing fatal crashes have become rampant on our roads.

They speed way beyond the permitted speed, and when they brake suddenly, the car will veer to the opposite side of the road.

There is an urgent need to check on these needless accidents and deaths.

When these heavy vehicles drive at speeds beyond their set speed limit, they are vulnerable to accidents.

They overtake dangerously and speed on the fast lane, which is out of bounds for them.

We must strictly and seriously enforce the speed limit for these heavy vehicles. Install more highway cameras to record heavy vehicles that overtake the fast lane.

The traffic enforcement units need to step up their surveillance and check on heavy vehicles when they overtake the fast lane.

Patrol cars cannot be found everywhere on the highway and expressways. We need the road users to be the eyes on speeding heavy vehicles.

I have seen some heavy vehicles’ telephone numbers pasted on the back of the heavy vehicles to call the number if the driver drives dangerously or speedily.

Hopefully, all heavy vehicles will have these call numbers so that other users on the highway can be the “eyes” on these speeders.

Unless punitive and positive action is taken, these ‘monsters’ are going to be a threat to innocent lives. Enforce the speed limit strictly on heavy vehicles to reduce accidents and loss of lives.

SAMUEL YESUIAH

Seremban