RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM: Stationary trucks and vehicles parked on the national highways are turning into death traps for drivers who fail to see them, particularly during the wee hours, said East Godavari district Joint Collector N Tej Bharath. He reviewed the road safety policy on Sunday, and directed the police to intensify patrolling at all blackspots and sensitive areas on the national highways to prevent further mishaps.
The Joint Collector said that the national highway connecting Rajamahendravaram with Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam is full of such ill-parked vehicles, which invite several major accidents, while vehicles halted there for a while are seldom noticed by the patrolling police. The recent accident, which claimed lives of seven members of a family, including four women and one child, from Rajamahendravaram, has shook the State. Their car had rammed into a stationary truck on Devarapalli-Rajamahendravaram national highway near Ananthapalli.
“Drivers seem to be hardly bothered about the consequence of their negligence, as most of the vehicles parked on the roadside are without night reflectors that make their presence unapparent to the travellers, leading to accidents. Many of them manage to escape after the mishap,” the Joint Collector said.