Cargo protruding from commercial vehicles: How it can be a danger

I was trailing this truck with protruding goods on a local road, loaded with metal frames for stage support and bamboo poles that have sharply cut ends.

BHPian anajan_c2007 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

“In the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, an erroneous proviso Rule 93( 8 ) allowed the plying of vehicles carrying protruding loads on roads upto one metre,” says Save LIFE a NGO taking up societal issues. In 2013, the NGO filed a petition in the Apex Court to strike down the provision and implement a ban on vehicles carrying protruding cargo. The proviso Rule 93( 8 ) has ever since been struck down by the Apex Court.

Despite a blanket ban on carrying of protruding and dangerous materials beyond the body frame, various vehicles including trucks, tractors and animal-pulled carts and others are openly flouting rules on city roads, National as well as State highways under the nose of concerned authorities.

I was trailing this truck with protruding goods on a local road, loaded with metal frames for stage support and bamboo poles that have sharply cut ends.

Such illegal portrusions go unnoticed in most cases by the law enforcers. Since decades, we have noticed deaths and injuries of occupants in trailing vehicles hit by such protrusions. Windscreens of cars have been ruptured and steel rods have penetrated into cars, during low visibility phases and have either injured or killed the passengers.

Such acts by law violators are barbaric and they need to be booked under provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act and also under criminal provisions of the IPC.

Here's what BHPian Roadie9 had to say on the matter:

Thanks OP for opening discussion on this very important topic here. This practice is prevalent through out the country with law enforcers hand in glove with the offenders.

While a regular citizen like most of us will be harassed to hell even for smaller things which are not life threatening, these protruding cargo somehow become invisible to the law enforcers - that too, on major highways crossing several checkpoints.

When I see these on roads I feel sad that from road safety perspective we are still 50 years behind the norm.

What shocked me recently on a few occasions were large industrial cargo of extra wide nature also being carried out without any lights on any sides just giving out a dark silhouette that is easy to miss in night.

It is bewildering to see some intercity busses with all the bling and 100 lights across their body panels, with a truck crawling by their side with absolute zero demarcation of its physical boundaries.

Its sad that our very safety pushing ultra vocal minister never comes up with any thoughts on these matters. Is having 6 airbags (or even 2) in all cars more important than having a tail light on every single vehicle on road?

Here's what BHPian d.w.w had to say on the matter:

Its hard to judge the amount of protrusion when the poles/rods are parallel to the road. Usually people tie a piece of red cloth or sack at the end of the pole to warn people behind about it, but in this case that is missing too.

From the transporters point of view, carrying it on smaller trucks will be economical for them. They will have to spend extra for a bigger truck, so they will get the smallest one that can fit the cargo and happily bribe the police if caught. Win-win for everyone involved.

Here in KL, you can see passenger autos carrying such cargo. The minimum charge for a goods auto as I understand is 500 to 1000 rs , so people pick passenger autos to carry GI pipes/PVC pipes/plywood and tie the cargo on top and transport it for about 1/4th of the transportation cost. Imagine hiring a truck to carry a small number of pipes just to avoid protrusion - doesn't make sense. Could be another reason why why law enforcement let it go.

Here's what BHPian ashis89 had to say on the matter:

A couple of weeks ago, I was on NH16 and it was 5 in the evening with enough daylight. Somewhere after Nellore, I see this tractor trolley loaded with tree logs. The logs were placed horizontally, protruding 5 feet outside of the trolley on each side. Effectively, the tractor needed two lanes for itself. And it was cruising merrily like no one's business.

Between Nellore and Guntur, I must have spotted more than 15 such specimens hurtling down the dark highway without any taillights. 3 of them were coming towards me, along the wrong way with couple of high beam lights telling me of someone approaching until they're close enough for me to see their load. Now imagine such a contraption going on a single undivided road.

Trucks with big nets on their loading bay and overflowing with coconut shells is another common sight on the highway. And those carrying cotton in a similar manner. They can easily block 1.5 lanes and keep you guessing about what's ahead.

Here's what BHPian androdev had to say on the matter:

This auto is transporting some kind of plastic scrap, I have no idea how it was loaded and how it would be unloaded!! One of those bizarre sights you catch on our highway.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.