Amid poor infra, risk of accidents due to fog in Amritsar rural areas increases
With dense fog engulfing the region, especially rural areas, commuting was a difficult task due to low visibility here on Wednesday. Fog started disappearing from city areas after 10 pm, but it stayed in rural areas till around afternoon causing inconvenience to drivers.
Residents are happy that temperature has started to decrease and fog has increased cold. At the same time, it has also raised concerns about road accidents as most of the roads in rural areas are not convenient for driving during fog as white markings on both sides and warning signs are missing.
The prevailing foggy conditions have worried commuters, especially those who need to travel by road to reach their workplaces and home.
With the visibility dropping to less than few metres on Thursday, fog has not only increased travel time but also the chances of accidents as most of the roads do not have white markings and other warning signs to guide and alert drivers.
The chances of accidents are further increased by not turning on the front and rear lights of vehicles. Besides, fog lights are also required to warn other vehicles coming from the opposite side, but these have not been installed on most of the vehicles. Then come ‘jugaad’ vehicles like ‘gharukas’ or rhehris made by using the front half of bikes which are lacking in most safety features.
The residents also complained that many vehicles do not have proper lights which makes it difficult to spot them during fog. “Fog lights should be mandatory for all vehicles. Further there should be warning signs to guide drivers about turns and twists in road as it is difficult see,” said Jatinder Singh a resident.
As people who need to travel long distance for work are worried, here is an advice from a veteran roadways driver Sukjinder Singh. Singh said, “One should avoid loud music during fog and should use his ears to listen to the sound of vehicles coming from opposite sides. Moreover music distracts one’s mind from road.”
