Overloaded trucks are death-on-wheels
One in every three trucks in the country is overloaded and they are to blame for 50 per cent of road accidents, surveys by the Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training have found.
Around three-fourths of the annual Rs 550 billion loss from road accidents was attributed to the unorganised truck transport industry. The foundation said over 92,500 people were killed each year in road accidents in the country coming under the wheels of the overloaded vehicles. Delhi leads the metro casualty count.
Most trucks were found overloaded by 25-50 per cent.
Senior fellow and coordinator of the foundation, S.P. Singh, said: “When a truck is overloaded by 10 per cent, its steering and brake control is reduced by 50 and 40 per cent, respectively. Overloading also reduces the productive life of the road by 80 per cent and the productive life of the truck by 30 per cent.”