Faced with public ire over three deaths in a row in Thiruvananthapuram this week due to apparent overloading and reckless driving by tipper lorries, personnel of the Motor Vehicles department (MVD) and the police have sought adequate number of weighbridges across highways to rein in overloading and the subsequent risk it posed to motorists and pedestrians.
“Such weighbridges could also be put up near quarries and at big worksites like ports. This is all the more required since the tipper lorry from which a granite boulder fell on a dental student, resulting in his death, was having an overload of 18 tonnes. This in itself would attract a fine of ₹37,000,” said a senior MVD official.
Interestingly, police personnel most often slap a token fine of just ₹250 for overloading, while their MVD counterparts impose ₹10,000 for overloading and an additional ₹1,500 for each additional tonne of load beyond the permitted capacity, he added.
