Keeping the safety hazards that come with overloaded trucks on national highways in mind, a Parliamentary Standing Committee has asked the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways to look into the possibilities of reforming the provisions to charge a toll on the basis of the weight of the vehicles, instead of axle-based toll collection.
The Committee feels that overloaded vehicles cause severe damage to the roads, and act as significant safety risk to other vehicles plying on the road said the report recently submitted to Parliament. It recommended that the Ministry must explore the possibilities of reforming the provisions to charge a toll on the basis of the weight of the vehicles, instead of axle-based toll collection. The Committee feels that the implementation of the weigh-in-motion system to issue automated challans/penalties would eliminate the possible collusion of corrupt officials with the heavy vehicle owners and help curb the menace of overloading.
The Ministry may undertake a systematic study of the damage caused by overloaded trucks on National Highways and the negative impact of the same on the longevity and safety of the highways, it said. The report said that Immediate measures shall be taken to curb the menace of overloaded vehicles on National Highways such as rectifying weighing machines which are non-functional for a long time,
The committee in its report on national highways said in its report that, "Hefty fines should be imposed on vehicles not abiding by the limits. The Ministry may coordinate with the concerned Ministries and State Departments to introduce provisions for a penalty on the consignor and consignee as well, besides the truck owners. The Committee feels that doing so would deter the loading of excess load from the source itself and prevent damage to NHS while also improving road safety,"
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