Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
clear sky
weather
OMAN
25°C / 25°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Put an end to dangerous driving by trucks

Ali-Al-Matani-new
Ali-Al-Matani-new
minus
plus

Ali Al Matani -


ali.matani2@gmail.com -


Lorries rule the roost on roads across the Sultanate, with drivers throwing caution to the wind. They do not think twice before overtaking. They jostle with each other, not giving way to the lorry that has already overtaken it.


The end result of such dangerous games: accidents to smaller vehicles that are left with little space to cope with these slow-moving giants.


Some of them click photographs of such races on the roads in the hope that the lorry drivers will stop such antics out of fear that they may be reported to the authorities.


Sometimes such adventures end in disasters, a pile-up on the highway, death, incapacitated passengers and severed body parts. Even such incidents do not seem to deter these ‘terrorists’ on the road.


Accidents make it obligatory for the transport authorities to issue directives time and again to rein in these dangerous devils. Even as the law states that trucks have to stick to the rule, ‘Trucks to the right lane’, it is more often flouted than followed.


Authorities should keep tabs on these dangerous practices and stop lorry drivers from transgressing laws.


Drivers need to be hauled up and made to cool their heels in jail for a few days. Worse, their licences should be cancelled for a year or two.


Regrettably, some physically strong — if not mentally strong – drivers are only happy to flex their muscles. At the wheels of these 20-metre-long vehicles, they think of themselves as race track heroes and turn the steering wheel violently, hitting other vehicles or forcing them off the road. In addition to the offence, they abuse those who dare to overtake them or question their driving style.


Some drivers commit fatal “road terrorism”. When they see a vehicle trying to overtake them, their “sadistic” intentions push them to increase their speed, so that the vehicle in the opposite direction cannot get back to the road, and is forced to go off road and crash the vehicle than getting crushed under the wheels of giant trucks.


As a matter of fact, lorry drivers do not fear crashes because they drive huge vehicles.


We often see lorries, despite their size and length, driving on the edge of turns and curves. Of course, this happens due to speeding by some expatriate drivers.


The Royal Oman Police (ROP) has expended much efforts to regulate lorry traffic all over the Sultanate and restrict their entry into Muscat during rush hour in order to prevent overcrowding and monitor bizarre actions on roads.


The efforts by the authorities concerned are not enough in the absence of awareness of traffic laws among truck drivers.


They need to be dealt with mercilessly. Truck drivers need to be made aware of driving methods on public roads.


The art of politeness and decency need to be inculcated in them, especially the expatriate lorry drivers, who need to be taught about people’s safety.


We hope those driving huge vehicles on the road comply with the law and don’t get careless when it comes to the lives of innocents.


Accidents occurring as a result of these drivers on the road have to be stopped immediately for which steps have to be taken to treat the situation as an emergency.


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon