Inspection of heavy vehicle tyres on expressways: Official

The recent spate of fatal accidents has prompted the police to strictly inspect the tyre condition of heavy vehicles entering the expressways, said Saman Opanayake, Director, Expressway Operations, Maintenance and Management Division (EOMMD).

Speaking to Daily Mirror, Mr. Opanayake said this decision was taken due to the increase in the number of fatal accidents during the past two months.

“The total number of accidents has increased from 15 to 20 and the number of heavy vehicle accidents from 7 to 8 per cent. Long and heavy vehicle drivers who enter expressways do not consider the condition of their vehicle tyres. Many accidents occur due to tyre bursts. Tyres in bad condition heat up when the vehicle travels at a speed of 100kmph. This does damage to expressway properties. Also, repairing broken down vehicles on expressways has increased the number of accidents. Against this backdrop, the Expressway Police will identify and remove heavy vehicles with bad tyres,” he said.

On a different note, Mr. Opanayake said special mobile inspection teams had been deployed to inspect expressways for tyrechanging.

“During a breakdown, the vehicle should be parked by the roadside with hazard lights on and the driver should call the expressway emergency on telephone number 1969. The tendency of drivers falling asleep on the wheel has also contributed to the increasing number of accidents. Building resting areas on expressways is impossible though we have the Canonwin Arcade restaurant at Welipenna,” he said.