There are about 400 tanker lorries criss-crossing Kerala every night transporting bulk cooking gas from Mangalore refinery to bottling plants in the state.
And it has been a long-standing demand of tanker drivers that they be permitted to ply the vehicle during day.
According to B. Harikumar, president of the Kerala Tanker Lorry Workers Union, the previous LDF government had eased the restriction on the movement of petroleum carriers by extending transportation time till 10 am.
“But the present government brought back the restriction and tankers now ply only during night. Night driving without sleep has added to stress in drivers,” he said.
Harikumar also said that speed governors were made compulsory only in Kerala. Tanker lorries from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu don’t follow speed restrictions.
Meanwhile, according to experts, drivers usually doze off between 2 am and 5 am and it would do
them good if they were allowed to rest during this time. There was also the chance of speeding during night.
Organising rescue work was also a time-consuming process during night. Transport department sources said that unscientific dividers and inadequate road conditions were also causes of concern.
The department has a set of guidelines for tanker drivers that include fire-fighting skills for them. As per the norms all tankers carrying hazardous material should also have fire extinguishers and spark-arresters.
Certain technical specifications for the quality of the tanker have also been prescribed by the centre.