Changes in law and practice on roads vital

A fear of trucks as potential killers is unhealthy to our national psyche, writes Anonymous

One appreciates the reason for the vast increase in the number of trucks on the road. It is said Transnet is failing to provide adequate rail transport, so trucking firms are soaking up the demand.

I recently travelled on a Tuesday night to Durban. Heavy trucks outnumbered cars by as much as twenty-fold.

We drove past a car which had literally been pulverised by a truck. We did not see a single policeman or traffic camera.

Many truck drivers have forgotten their vehicles can intimidate small cars. When trucks start being seen as potential killers – that will not be good for the national psyche.

Some suggested measures: police should keep an active nocturnal presence. They should penalise noncompliance with road rules, truck speed and roadworthiness. Retreads should be banned.

The legislature could make satellite software – common in trucks – mandatory. These could be fed to municipal systems to monitor speed by location and brake temperature.

Restore “Report bad driving” signs, which have vanished. Preclude that contact numbers be upon the left-hand side door only, as then motorists need to ‘undertake’ to report a trucker.

Let measures be adopted by government and business before many more die, goodwill toward truckers, their companies and even clients are eroded irrevocably, and tourism and the national psyche are affected.